Other editions of book Lord Of The World: The 1907 First Edition. Includes: Hugh - Memoirs Of A Brother by A.C. Benson.

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. 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 the religion of Humanity modelled on that of Auguste Comte. (A scene in which the Antichrist leads a massed congregation in the worship of a nude female statue in St. Paul's Cathedral is a more decorous version of the worship of the Goddess of Reason in Notre Dame de Paris in 1793. 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. The deposed royal houses of the world (including the Chinese imperial dynasty, who have converted to Catholicism) are now resident in Rome. 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".

Lord of the World is Robert Hugh Benson's sci-fi novel about the approach of the apocalypse and emergence of the Antichrist in an alternate timeline. First published in 1907, this novel is commonly cited as one of the earliest examples of dystopian fiction. At the time the author was strongly opposed to the view of H. G. Wells that a combination of technology and new political ideologies would lead to a boundless utopia for mankind, with religious belief rejected in favor of broad secularism. Repelled by this popular vision of the future, Benson set out to create his own. Lord of the World was the result of his endeavor: it depicts a future in which the Labour Party abolishes many of the scientific, commercial and religious bodies of the United Kingdom, resulting in a mono-culture of communistic rule. The world meanwhile is split between two superpowers - the Eastern Empire whose rule stretches across most of Asia, and the British Empire. As the story progresses, the reemergence of religious forces transpires with God appearing to multiple characters. Gradually the forces of organised religion are pushed into violent conflict with the prevailing socialist order. To this day Lord of the World is praised for its approach to depicting a world where traditions and faith are abandoned in favor of newer ideologies. It has received praise particularly from figures in the Catholic religion, including compliments from multiple Popes. It also predicted several of the 20th century's technological advancements, namely interstate motorways and the mass commercialization of air travel.

This visionary dystopian and apocalyptic novel of 1907 presents a future in which secular humanism has triumphed, with religion suppressed and almost non-existent. It follows the fortunes of an M.P. and his wife, who come under the sway of the antichrist figure, the titular Lord of the World, who appears to promise a heaven on earth, and a catholic priest, who is fighting to keep the Church alive through its many tribulations. It is highly readable and seems prescient on many counts - the rise of communist states, the advent of air travel and the dominating power of a forceful leader - but its strong Catholic bias has tended to limit its readership. This handsome new edition has been completely re-typeset to be clear and complete.

Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914) was the youngest son of Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, and younger brother of Edward Frederic Benson. In 1895, he was ordained a priest in the Church of England by his father who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. After many years of questioning and soul-searching he was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1903. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1904 and named a Monsignor in 1911.This book, written in 1907, is Benson's dystopic vision of a near future world in which religion has, by and large, been rejected or simply fallen by the wayside. The Catholic Church has retreated to Italy and Ireland, while the majority of the rest of the world is either Humanistic or Pantheistic. There is a 'one world' government, and euthanasia is widely available. The plot follows the tale of a priest, Percy Franklin, who becomes Pope Silvester III, and a mysterious man named Julian Felsenburgh, who is identical in looks to the priest and who becomes "Lord of the World"."The one condition of progress...on the planet that happened to be men's dwelling place, was peace, not the sword which Christ brought or that which Mahomet wielded; but peace that arose from, not passed, understanding; the peace that sprang from a knowledge that man was all and was able to develop himself only by sympathy with his fellows..."

How is this book unique?Unabridged (100% Original content)Formatted for e-readerFont adjustments & biography includedIllustratedAbout Lord Of The World By Robert Hugh BensonLord of the World is a 1907 novel by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson that centers upon the reign of the Anti-Christ and the End of the World. It has been called prophetic by Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.According to his biographer, Fr. Cyril Martindale, Mgr. Benson's depiction of the future was in many ways an inversion of the science fiction novels of H. G. Wells. In particular, Benson was sickened by Wells' belief that Atheism, Marxism, World Government, and Eugenics would lead to an earthly utopia. Due to his depiction of a Wellsian future as a global police state, Benson's novel has been called one of the first modern works of dystopian fiction. Writing during the pontificate of Pope Pius X and prior to the First World War, Monsignor Benson accurately predicted interstate highways and passenger air travel using an advanced form of Zeppelin called the "volor". However, he also presumed the survival of the British Empire and predominant travel by rail. Like many other Catholics of the era in which he wrote, Monsignor Benson shares the political and economic views of G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.

Robert Hugh Benson was an Anglican priest who also wrote Christian works. From the preface: "I am perfectly aware that this is a terribly sensational book, and open to innumerable criticisms on that account, as well as on many others. But I did not know how else to express the principles I desired (and which I passionately believe to be true) except by producing their lines to a sensational point. I have tried, however, not to scream unduly loud, and to retain, so far as possible, reverence and consideration for the opinions of other people. Whether I have succeeded in that attempt is quite another matter."

In or about the year 2000, humanity has reached "that incredibly lofty goal to which its intrinsic efforts can carry it" - but rejected everything but crass materialism. Technology has advanced to the point where no one need work for a living, while the social sciences have achieved a smoothly-running if almost unbearably sterile social order. Formal religious beliefs except for Catholicism have been uprooted and eliminated as coherent systems, and the Catholic Church has been completely discredited in the eyes of the world, finally being outlawed. The result is everything the late Victorians and Edwardians believed would bring human happiness - and which brings nothing but the advent of new superstitions, despair, and the end of the world ... maybe.

[Read by Simon Vance] Civilization rushes headlong toward not only its own destruction but that of the very world in this remarkably prescient novel, one of the first works of modern dystopian fiction. Secular humanism has triumphed. Everything the late Victorians and Edwardians believed would bring human happiness has been achieved: technology has made it so no one need work for a living, the social sciences ensure a smooth-running social order, and in the name of tolerance, religious beliefs have been uprooted and eliminated except for a single holdout: a largely discredited and rapidly shrinking Catholic Church. Yet people are unhappy. What has been created is a sterile world of crass materialism, a world without spiritual dimension, a world where people daily choose legalized euthanasia over the emptiness of existence. Out of this culture of despair, there arises a charismatic leader: Julian Felsenburgh. Soon the masses are in Felsenburgh's thrall and he becomes leader of the world. But in their eagerness for change, have the citizens of the world embraced the Antichrist and hastened the end of days? Father Percy Franklin remains a bastion of stability, even as the Catholic Church disintegrates around him. Finally outlawed and driven underground, it is only this small and shrinking Church that stands against the ''Lord of the World.''

Two books by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson are now available in one download, Lord of the World & The Dawn of All. In both these books, faith in God is being replaced by faith in man. Percy Franklin is a simple English priest witnessing the end times. With the rise of a mysterious leader called Julian Felsenburgh, Christians realize that he is increasingly becoming a powerful and dreadful antichrist. Father Franklin seeks spiritual guidance by traveling to Rome to meet with Pope John XXIV, who has been gathering the dying remnants of the faith together. In a new edition for modern readers, immerse in the cinematically spectacular conclusion of virtue in the face of vicious hatred, as Father Franklin and the last of Christ’s flock confront the overwhelming force of the Lord of the World. And sixty years after the first book’s dramatic conclusion, the second book in the series, The Dawn of All, picks up where the Lord of the World left off.

— A Classic — Includes Active Table of Contents — Includes Religious IllustrationsIt was a very silent room in which the three men sat, furnished with the extreme common sense of the period. It had neither window nor door; for it was now sixty years since the world, recognising that space is not confined to the surface of the globe, had begun to burrow in earnest. Old Mr. Templeton’s house stood some forty feet below the level of the Thames embankment, in what was considered a somewhat commodious position, for he had only a hundred yards to walk before he reached the station of the Second Central Motor-circle, and a quarter of a mile to the volor-station at Blackfriars. He was over ninety years old, however, and seldom left his house now. The room itself was lined throughout with the delicate green jade-enamel prescribed by the Board of Health, and was suffused with the artificial sunlight discovered by the great Reuter forty years before; it had the colour-tone of a spring wood, and was warmed and ventilated through the classical frieze grating to the exact temperature of 18 degrees Centigrade. Mr. Templeton was a plain man, content to live as his father had lived before him.Aeterna Press

How is this book unique?Font adjustments & biography includedUnabridged (100% Original content)Formatted for e-readerIllustratedAbout Lord Of The World by Robert Hugh BensonLord of the World is a 1907 novel by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson that centers upon the reign of the Anti-Christ and the End of the World. It has been called prophetic by Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.According to his biographer, Fr. Cyril Martindale, Mgr. Benson's depiction of the future was in many ways an inversion of the science fiction novels of H. G. Wells. In particular, Benson was sickened by Wells' belief that Atheism, Marxism, World Government, and Eugenics would lead to an earthly utopia. Due to his depiction of a Wellsian future as a global police state, Benson's novel has been called one of the first modern works of dystopian fiction. Writing during the pontificate of Pope Pius X and prior to the First World War, Monsignor Benson accurately predicted interstate highways and passenger air travel using an advanced form of Zeppelin called the "volor". However, he also presumed the survival of the British Empire and predominant travel by rail. Like many other Catholics of the era in which he wrote, Monsignor Benson shares the political and economic views of G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.