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by: G. K. Chesterton
Amazon.com's Price: $13.95 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781606640760
ISBN: 1606640763
Label: Aegypan
Manufacturer: Aegypan
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 148
Publication Date: May 01, 2008
Publisher: Aegypan
Sales Rank: 2881686
Studio: Aegypan
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The little man, whose name was Auberon Quin, had an appearance compounded of a baby and an owl. His round head, round eyes, seemed to have been designed by nature playfully with a pair of compasses. When he entered a room of strangers, they mistook him for a small boy, and they wanted to take him on their knees, until he spoke -- when they perceived that a boy would have been more intelligent!
This is London, England -- yet a London, England, of a distant future when a great cosmopolitan civilization has taken control of the world -- and all is ruled by the King.
Strangely, though, each new King of England is chosen from an official rotating list! And who is to be next?
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), author of poetry, history and plays, began his career as a novelist with this 1904 extrapolation into a future London -- a gray, regulated, repetitious London . . . into which an element of surprise has quietly appeared, threatening to alter everything for good -- or ill.
Customer Reviews
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Rating:  - Seriousness sends men mad
Imagine a 1984 London where society has frozen at turn-of-the-century levels, a King is randomly selected from the populace, and nobody really takes politics seriously.
Of course, it only takes one wise, weird little man to turn all of that on its head. G.K. Chesterton's magnificently absurd comic novel explores a common theme in his books -- a person who entertains himself with an absurdly serious world -- in an increasingly heated situation where the little boroughs of London have ... Read More
Rating:  - The Napoleon of Notting Hill
Not Chesterton's best work, this quirky debut novel is still a must-read for anyone who appreciates the "Prince of Paradox" and his quirky sense of humor. It begins with a humorous overview of some of the more ridiculous social theorists of the day. (Science fiction fans will surely get a kick from a brief mention of H. G. Wells and his far-fetched visions.) Then we observe London society in 1984, changed very little from the early twentieth century, because the drudgery of capitalism and bureaucracy ... Read More
Rating: - Great Introduction to the Creative Mind of G. K. Chesterton
This short book, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, written 100 years ago, is a futuristic fantasy, a political satire, a prophetic tale, and a comic novel, all intertwined. Published in 1904, The Napoleon of Notting Hill was G. K. Chesterton's first novel. It has been called the best first novel by any author in the twentieth century.
It has been some years since my first reading of The Napoleon of Notting Hill. Once again I find it to be enjoyable, humorous, highly entertaining, and decidedly thought ... Read More
Rating:  - For the hard-core Anglophile
This, to me, is a good example of a book that is primarily premise. The idea of London being broken up into little city states is amusing, but Chesterton doesn't do enough with the comic possibilities. It was difficult for me to enjoy this book, while constantly being reminded of "Passport to Pimlico," a much more whimsical take on the notion.
Rating: - It offends postmodern sentiments and leaves you aghast.
The theme of the Napoleon of Nottingham Hill is that it is better to live a short exciting life than a long boring one. GKC would argue that the moment when you are most lucid and the world is convinced that you are mad is exactly when you are the most sane. The Napoleon of Nottingham Hill is the story of how an irrational war among London's suburbs finally gives meaning to the lives of moderns who have become so board with living. The book also explains what humor is and how man can stand proud without sinning. ... Read More
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