Although stylistically The Chrysalids does not differ markedly from Wyndham's other novels, the subject matter is rather different. While most are set against a mid-twentieth-century English middle-class background, The Chrysalids is set in a future society which is described in some detail. Unlike most of his novels, it is also a coming-of-age story.
It was written after The Kraken Wakes and before The Midwich Cuckoos.
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The Question and Answer section for The Chrysalids is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
“If John and Mary Wender had been there when I woke up struggling and crying, and then lay in the dark trying to convince myself that the terrible picture was nothing more than a dream, they would, I think, have felt quite a lot easier in their...
Intolerance iand identity are among the biggest themes in the Chrysalids. So many of the characters are unable to accept each other’s views and beliefs. For example, Joseph Strorm would destroy all sorts of "deviants" because he feels they are...
Uncle Axel describes the Blacklands and the Black Coast as a “desert of charcoal” (60), implying it was burnt to a crisp by the event that caused Tribulation. The Sealand woman also describes a horrific expanse of black melted glass and completely...
