Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914)

The 1907 novel Lord of the World was reissued by an American Catholic press in 2016 in response to a repeated approbation of the book by Pope Francis, who claimed that it illustrated what he called the threat of "ideological colonization" (ix-x). It has also been held up as a seminal example of dystopian science fiction, and was certainly in part written as a rejoinder to the political imaginings of H.G. Wells.

As "science" fiction, this book does not impress. Propeller-driven aircraft show more ("volors") allow for travel from London to Rome in twelve hours' time and for aerial bombardment. The story anticipates for the early 21st century the "perfection" of telegraphy (252)--but the existence of neither radio nor telephony, let alone television. A cutting-edge means of mass communication is the widespread posting of placards in urban nodes for mass transit. A simple respiratory device for euthanasia has been developed and legitimized for both eugenics and suicide. Along with a peculiar emphasis on rubber carpets, those pretty much exhaust the technological innovation forecast in this book.

Author Robert Hugh Benson's speculative political history of the 20th century is mostly set forth in a prologue which he himself calls "tiresome" and advises the reader to skip if one is more interested in narrative than exposition. It charts the appearance of Communist governments by democratic means throughout the industrialized Western countries. Nation-states have become consolidated into three great alliances (America, Europe, and the Eastern Empire), which in the course of the novel become departments of the one-world government under the charismatic diplomat-cum-global-sovereign Julian Felsenburgh. The dispossessed royalty of Europe have rallied around Catholic Rome, both ideologically and physically.

Casting the remarks by Pope Francis in a somewhat ironic light, the actual economic and military colonization wrought by 19th-century imperialism goes absolutely unquestioned by Benson; Africa has been subject to a "peaceful partition" (131) among its dominators, and every individual character that appears in the book is white as can be. Even the theoretically significant Eastern powers are abstracted and offstage.

The secular religion promoted by Felsenburgh is called "Humanitarianism," and it predictably becomes an oppressive and persecuting force. "It is Pantheism; it is developing a ritual under Freemasonry; it has a creed, 'God is Man,' and the rest" (10). Judaism has evidently vanished without a trace, and Islam has been prepared for its assimilation to the global cult by becoming "esoteric" (272) through the leaven of Sufism. Protestantism has ultimately dissolved as "nothing more than a little sentiment" (5). Everyone knows that Christianity is stupid.

Although Benson imagined that Catholic organization and administration would be centralized and simplified during a secularizing 20th century, he did not foresee major liturgical reforms, such as those undertaken by the Second Vatican Council. In a telling inversion of the actual turn of Catholicism to a diversity of popular languages, he has even the Catholic laity take up the use of Latin in ordinary speech. This they do in resistance to the invidious Esperanto fostered by international Communism, which has become an official language even in the English government.

Benson was the son of an Archbishop of Canterbury, who ordained him to the Anglican priesthood. He converted to Catholicism a few years after his father's death, and became a Catholic priest in 1904. He plays with a quasi-autobiographical trope of celebrity conversion in the first section of the novel, where the mother of a prominent English Communist politician converts to Catholicism.

It is easy to conjecture that Benson's novel might have influenced Charles Williams' All Hallow's Eve, which I read last month. But where Williams' aspiring antichrist never quite attains to the office of "Lord of the World," Felsenburgh sees his career through to a final battle at Armageddon. This finale--much like the one in Williams' War in Heaven--leverages a liturgical rhapsody to adumbrate a spiritual victory. The amillenial outcome is a refreshing counterpoint to the premillennialist Left Behind Apocalypse fantasies that littered bookshelves in the actual year 2007!

I am puzzled by the insistence of 21st-century Catholics that Benson's "prophetic" novel is obviously relevant to our current world situation, which is characterized by nationalist fragmentation and rightward political drift far more than the democracy and liberal humanitarianism that Benson found so frightful. And of course he completely misses anything like the surveillance capitalism and ecocide that are the real engines of our existing dystopia. Nevertheless, the novel is interesting as a peculiar development of the species of fin de siècle Catholic paranoia cultivated and exploited by Gabriel Jogand-Pagès (the notorious "Leo Taxil"), and the fact that it still has the attention of readers after the date to which it assigned the eschaton testifies in its favor. The individual characterizations are effective; Felsenburgh is not a viewpoint character, and the interior treatment of both Christians and Communists is managed with a fair amount of sympathy. I found it a surprisingly fast read. show less

If you enjoy the stories of E.F. Benson, well, you'll probably hate this book as much as I did. The three brothers did nominally all write spook stories but only one did it well. A certain liveliness of image is almost always ruined here by an overtly Christian moralizing. People donate ill gotten buried treasures to build churches, that sort of thing. A mysterious white figure carries off the now smiling ghost, it having faced its misdeeds made on this mortal coil, finally, from the other show more side. I'm sure this sort of dreck was wildly popular among the better classes up until the mid-twentieth century. A sort of acceptable spiritualism.

It's all lost on us now even making so called contemporary inspirational fiction seem sophisticated by comparison. show less

Lord of the World is an early example of dystopian fiction, set in a world in which materialism and individualism have triumphed over religion in the West. The few remaining Catholics are condescendingly tolerated even as they are openly ridiculed by those who know better. Then, just when it seems like there will be war between Europe and "the East", an unknown American takes the world by storm. All of a sudden, the West discovers faith again—faith in humanity expressed as faith in show more Felsenburgh. Catholic priest Father Percy Franklin despairs of what is coming, even as he tries to help his flock withstand the coming persecution. From mob violence to official persecution, there is no relief in sight for those who differ with the official line. In return Felsenburgh has promised a new age, but as one of the main characters finds out, this new age looks a lot like the old one.

A very interesting take on the End of the World. Highly recommended for fans of classic dystopian fiction, fiction of the apocalypse, or interesting Catholic fiction. show less

This is a tough book for me to pin down. Part social commentary, part theological examination, this story is considered to be contemporary fiction for the time period it was written in. Upon reading the author's background, I wonder just how much of the story is fiction and how much is autobiographical in nature, given some interesting parallels between Benson's own conversion from being an ordained priest of the Church of England to becoming a Roman Catholic priest. At the time this "story" show more was written, Benson is known to have been questioning the status of the Church of England. This is not a pious story and Benson does a good job of including characters representative of the society of the time period: the country gentleman and his family who view long held family beliefs to be paramount to considering any new viewpoints of their offspring; the flamboyantly converted (in the form our Lady Brasted) whose meddling in finding new converts to the Roman Catholic faith is enough to even have the priests in the story groaning at her self-sacrificing and yet, very self-serving actions; and lets not forget the questionable motives of younger women on the search for a suitable husband, also represented in this story.

As a snapshot of British society circa 1900, this is a well written commentary. As a work of fiction, it left me with just a 'meh' feeling. As a work of theological discussion, it raises some interesting, for me, points regarding the contemplatives of the time period and the contemplative life as a vocation, as something I had no knowledge of prior to reading this one.

Finally, as an aside, I was very surprised to see the extensive publication list of Benson's works, ranging from science fiction (really!?), historical fiction, contemporary fiction, children's books, devotional works, apologetic works and even a handful of plays! show less