The Flying Inn

"The speech was made by an eccentric of course. Most of those who attended, and nearly all those that talked were eccentric in one way or another.”

The above quote is Chesterton’s description of the people that attended a soiree at the home of Lord Ivywood, but it could also refer to all the characters in this book. Sometime in England when the country like the rest of the world has fallen under the domination of a moslem regime headed by a Pasha: a couple of English eccentrics try and beat the ban on selling alcohol and end up leading a revolution. Published in 1914 one could be forgiven for thinking that this may sound like a possible comment on a world in our future, but this is not the case. Chesterton has set his unlikely story show more in a bucolic England where characters bumble around rather in the manner of a second rate story by H G Wells.

Lord Ivywood is the English face of the moslem regime and in effect a sort of Prime Minister whose residence in Pebbleswick by the sea is the centre for much of the story. He is a career politician and finds himself up against Humphrey Pump and Captain Dalroy who are bent on upsetting the applecart. The law says that alcohol can only be served at an inn where there is a public house sign and these are fast being destroyed. Humphrey Pump landlord of one of the last pubs in existence has the idea of uprooting his pub sign and setting it up where he pleases in an attempt to give people what they need - a drink. He is assisted by Captain Dalroy an Irish man-mountain who is fresh from negotiations with Lord Ivywood at Ithaca where a new treaty has been signed.

This book could best be described as a comedy, a romp or a farce and does show it’s age. Any satire is probably in the mind of the reader who must be careful not to be overly upset by some politically incorrect language by todays standards. I found it mildly amusing but instantly forgettable, but this may have been just what the reading public needed in 1914. There are songs and plenty of doggerel as we are invited to laugh at the witticisms of Humphrey Pump and Captain Dalroy; here is an example:

“You will find me drinking rum
Like a sailor in a slum
you will find me drinking beer like a Bavarian
You will find me drinking gin
In the lowest kind of inn
Because I am a rigid Vegetarian”

If this is the sort of stuff you find amusing then you might like The Flying Inn. They don’t write books like this anymore and so for curiosity value I rate it at 2.5 stars. show less

One of the more enjoyable books by Chesterton. His language is simply breathtaking, and the plot is humorous and quite exiting. Chesterton is nostalgic for an England that may or may not have existed. Probably not, to me at least that sounds rather unlikely. But he certainly makes us believe that something of great value has been lost. The characters are so loveable that they kind of make us forget how muddled and reactionary Chesterton's thinking actually was. This is also the one novel where his rather nauseating religiosity does not show which is probably one of the reason why this really is good reading.

Ok- i didn't finish it.. .but i was reading 5 other books at the same time and i just lost the thread. What i did read was in a beautiful old (old!) library binding book with that wonderful old feeling paper. This is a book about a subtle takeover of England by Turkish (light Muslim) ways. Alcohol is forbidden save at public inn's. they are all shut down, save one that travels stealthily by night with a sign and a heroic swashbuckling figure about the english country side evading the officials. Sounds great, right? yes- indeed- great! but also a little long on the one note motif. Still...

Curious book about a British PM who becomes enamored (oops, enamoured) with a Muslim mystic and proceeds to attempt to turn the society to fit with the mystic's notion of the good society. He's thwarted by a lusty soul who believes in a good strong drink, if only he could find (or establish) an inn that would sell it. Chesterton's novels are not as good as his essays or non-fiction.

4269 The Flying Inn, by G. K. Chesterton (read 3 Feb 2007) In my English Literature book from college there are 16 novels listed for further reading under the "Modern Era" and over the years I have read all but this one and one other, including the most remarkable one: Lady into Fox, by David Garnett (read 30 July 1950). So I decided to read this 1914 novel. I found it unrelievedly boring. I know there is some allegorical meaning to it, but such never came thru to me. It seeks to show how nonsensical prohibition is, involves putting a sign in front of a place which permits drinking there. There is a lot of palaver about that, some poetry, and a lot of uninteresting talk. I was glad to get to the last page. Maybe one should not draw show more reading suggestions from 60 year old lists. show less

I saw this book on a friend's GoodReads list and decided that since I like Chesterton I'd give it a try. As a bonus, since Chesterton's works are in the public domain, I was able to get the book free of charge (and you can too!). So there really is no excuse for not cozying up with a little G. K. Chesterton.

To add to my bonus, I scored an audiobook from LibriVox. If you are ... Please finish reading this review on my website: http://www.wetalkofholythings.com/2016/11/the-flying-inn-gk-chesterton-bookrevie...

See The Flying Inn and the Dun Cow at From Word to Word