The Flying Inn
G. K. Chesterton, first published 1914
A weird and exhilarating fantasy, rather too weird and too
much of a fantasy for some readers. Chesterton imagines early twentieth-century
England being taken over by an Islamic prophet and a peer of the realm who works
tirelessly to introduce Islamic customs as English laws little by little. What
the heroes of the book – a lunatic Irishman and a stolid, taciturn pub-owner –
object to is the ban on alcohol. Their adventures as they combat the menace
become more and more riotous as the book progresses, and they end up in a
full-scale pitched battle against the Turks who have secretly been brought in
to complete the conquest.
For a recent comment, see:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10918700/A-prophetic-trip-on-the-rolling-English-road.html
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