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Glasshouse (novel)

science fiction novel by Charles Stross

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ2027568 ↗
Source-derived summary

Glasshouse is a science fiction novel by British author Charles Stross, first published in 2006.

In 2007, Glasshouse won the Prometheus Award, as well as being nominated for the Hugo, Campbell, and Locus Awards.

Premise

The novel is set in the 27th century aboard a spacecraft adrift in interstellar space. Robin, the protagonist, has recently had his memory erased. He agrees to take part in an experiment, during which he is placed inside a model of a late 20th/early 21st century Euroamerican society. Robin is given a new identity and body, specifically that of a woman named "Reeve".

Major themes of this novel are identity, gender determinism, self-image, and conformity. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a sequel to his novel Accelerando (2005), although Stross has stated that the two novels are not obviously incompatible.

Production

Stross wrote of the book's production:

Glasshouse appeared, almost fully formed, in my head between 2:30 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Glasshouse (novel)” as science fiction novel by Charles Stross. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Glasshouse, novel and science.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2006, 2007, 2005—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—2003-04, 2006-06—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Glasshouse, novel and science providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Glasshouse (novel)”, the useful work is to connect “science fiction novel by Charles Stross” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2027568. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006, 2007 and 2005.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Glasshouse (novel)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Glasshouse (novel) primary sources, Glasshouse (novel) archive and Glasshouse research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Glasshouse (novel)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Glasshouse (novel)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.