Lord of the World
| Lord of the World | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Robert Hugh Benson |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Dystopian novel |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead and Company |
| Publication date | 1908 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 352 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
Lord of the World is a 1907 apocalyptic novel by Robert Hugh Benson. It is sometimes deemed one of the first modern dystopias. Michael D. O'Brien's Catholic apocalyptic series, Children of the Last Days follows a very similar theme as well.
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[edit] Plot outline
Essentially the novel imagines a socialist and humanist world where religion has been either suppressed or ignored. People have no history or hope so they often turn to euthanasia, which is legal. Further there is a "one-world" government that uses Esperanto for its language and ultimately becomes a servant of the anti-Christ. In brief: The Catholic Church has been suppressed by the rest of the world, which has turned to a form of "self religion". Pope John XXIV has made an agreement with the Italian government: the Catholic Church can have all of Rome, while all other churches in Italy are surrendered to the government. Ireland still remains staunchly Catholic, with small enclaves all over the world. Westminster Cathedral is the only church in London that is still Catholic. The rest have become Freemasonic temples. The plot then follows the tale of a priest, Percy Franklin, who becomes Pope Silvester III, and an unknown man named Julian Felsenburgh (who is identical in looks to the priest) who becomes "Lord of the World".
The fictional world described in this novel (written prior to the First World War) predicts certain innovations such as interstate highways (trunk, main junction) and air travel using "volors", an advanced form of Zeppelin or Ornithopter. It also assumes the continuation of the British Empire and predominant travel by train.
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[edit] Details
Where the novel is radically different from Evangelical Christian visions is that there is no Rapture and the only source of salvation is the Roman Catholic Church. Benson conceded other religions had parts of the truth, but he came to believe that only the Catholic Church had the full truth and the means of salvation. This coming to belief came from his conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism.
His ideas give some sense of aspects of English Catholic thought during the pontificate of Pope Pius X, sharing similar views as Catholic authors, G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. When this novel was written, in 1908, Antipopes Alexander V and John XXIII were seen as real Popes (so, Benson's Pope John is "XXIV" and not "XXIII", like Roncalli will be) and Pope Silvester III was seen as an Antipope (so, Benson's Pope Silvester is "III" and not "IV").
[edit] References
- Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 48.
[edit] External links
- Dennis L. Cuddy, "The Lord of the World", NewsWithViews.com
- "The Lord of the World", St. Augustine Press, 2001. ISBN 1-890318-38-8
- "The Lord of the World" complete text online at Authorama.com - public domain books
- "The Lord of the World" complete text from Project Gutenberg.
- "The Lord of the World", Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1908, from Google Books.
