Welcome to the final installment of our latest Tale for Our Time - my sequel/contemporary inversion to Anthony Hope's Ruritanian runaway hit The Prisoner of Zenda.
After my Monday column on the "Great Reset" that Klaus Schwab and his Davos cronies have announced for the rest of us, Steyn Clubber Garry from "Lower Slower Delaware" wondered:
Mark,
Did you write Part 29 before or after your heard the above video? As I was listening to Part 29, I thought that with only a very slight cock of my head, i could believe that what your characters were saying could actually be said by those in power. And lo and behold, today's video appears! It's depressing.
Thanks for a great column and continued greatness with The Prisoner of Windsor!
Thank you, Garry. It is depressing. When After America came out, I was very grateful that on the very day Moody's downgraded the US credit rating: One couldn't ask for a better promotional tie-in. But it's a little different when you're writing something satirical and set in the future, and real life on a Monday morning effortlessly outpaces you: At a time when the new 007 movie is six months late for its release, Herr Schwab basically decided to hold the first Spectre board meeting on Zoom - and then release it to the planet. I give up.
Tonight's concluding episode of The Prisoner of Windsor begins with the funeral of Michael Rassendyll. Rudy Elphberg feels the Vicar of Burlesdon is getting at him:
The cleric began to draw further contrasts. Ezekiel 18:27, for example. The church was, admittedly, far from full, but I don't seem why he had to fix his gaze on me:
'When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.'
Will Rudy turneth away from his wickedness? It's trickier than he thought. Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear me read the conclusion of The Prisoner of Windsor simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here.
Thank you so much for your compliments about Tales for Our Time during this time of looting and lockdown. Some like the ripping yarns for boys, some the more genteel social comedy for girls, and some of you even have enjoyed this summer whimsy from yours truly. But of the tales in totality all seem to be in favor. Thank you too for your continued kind words about our Covid-spawned audio edition of The Mark Steyn Show, and its various features such as "Last Call" and "The Hundred Years Ago Show".
If you enjoyed our time with Rudy Elphberg in a mad England, I hope you'll join me next month for a more usual Tale for Our Time. And, if you've yet to hear any of our Tales, you can enjoy the first three years' worth of audio adventures - by Conan Doyle, Kafka, Conrad, Gogol, Dickens, Baroness Orczy, Jack London, Louisa May Alcott, Robert Louis Stevenson and more - by joining The Mark Steyn Club. For details on membership, see here - and, if you're seeking the perfect present for a fellow fan of classic fiction, don't forget our Steyn Club Gift Membership. Sign up a pal today!
