Welcome to Part Thirty-One of our latest audio entertainment: Lord of the World, a far-sighted novel of 1907 by Robert Hugh Benson anticipating much of the psychology of the twenty-first century.
Thank you for your comments about this ambitious Tale. Steve, a First Month Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club from Manhattan, responds to last night's installment:
Just before reading the words "there were no longer any private rights at all, such as had certainly existed, in the period previous to this", I watched the JD Vance Munich speech on YouTube. As Vice President Vance noted, the right to pray silently on the street, or even in one's own home, has been overridden in parts of Europe. Once again, Fr. Benson's work is prescient.
Indeed. In some ways, the author is simply nudging what certain Euro-leaders are doing, and taking it to the next level.
Speaking of which, in tonight's episode of Lord of the World, Mabel confronts her husband about his support for all the violence "universal peace" now seems to require:
"For any one to say that they believe in God—I doubt very much whether there is any one who really does believe, or understand what it means—but for any one even to say so is the very worst crime conceivable: it is high treason. But there is going to be no violence; it will all be quite quiet and merciful. Why, you have always approved of Euthanasia, as we all do. Well, it is that that will be used; and..."
Oliver stood up. He could not bear the hardness of her voice.
"Mabel, my darling—-"
For an instant her lips shook; then again she looked at him with eyes of ice.
"I don't want that," she said. "It is of no use. Then you did sign it?"
Members of The Mark Steyn Club can hear Part Thirty-One of our tale simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here.
We'll be back on Tuesday evening with another installment of Lord of the World. If you're minded to join us in The Mark Steyn Club, you're more than welcome. You can find more information here. And, if you have a chum you think might enjoy Tales for Our Time (so far, we've covered Conan Doyle, H G Wells, Dickens, Conrad, Kipling, Kafka, Gogol, George Orwell, Baroness Orczy, Victor Hugo, O Henry, John Buchan, Scott Fitzgerald and more), we have a special Gift Membership that makes for a perfect birthday present.
