I just wanted to point out that "erewhon" is NOT "backwards for nowhere",
erewhon is backwards for
nohwere. Eh? So I'm anal when it comes to language.
However,
Erewhon is an
anagram of
nowhere; just one of the numerous language games Butler plays in the work.
Nowhere in Latin is
utopia, which is why
Sir Thomas Moore chose the word for the title of his famous work, which has become a part of the
lexicon for
an ideal society (or
nowhere).
Obviously Mr. Butler wished to associate his satire with the utopian literary tradition.