With this satirical novella, English schoolmaster Edwin A. Abbott provides both a mathematical fantasy and pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. The narrator, A. Square, resides in the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland. When he is visited by a sphere, he is suddenly faced with proof of the existence of three dimensions and is forced to see the limitations of his world.

In a foreword to one of the many publications of this novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "the best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions." As such, this novella is still popular among mathematics, physics, and computer science students.