The Napoleon of Notting Hill (Annotated)

This edition includes the following editor's introduction: G. K. Chesterton, the man beyond the writer

First published in 1904, “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” is a fantastical novel written by English writer G. K. Chesterton. It was Chesterton's first novel and has been called the best first novel by any author in the twentieth century.

“The Napoleon of Notting Hill” is set in a nearly unchanged London in 1984. In this London of the future, the drudgery of capitalism and bureaucracy have worn the human spirit down to the point where it can barely stand. The dreary succession of randomly selected Kings of England is broken up when Auberon Quin, who cares for nothing but a good joke, is chosen.

To amuse himself, he decides to turn London into a medieval carnival for his own amusement. All are bored by the King's antics except for one man, Adam Wayne, who takes the new order of things seriously, organizing a Notting Hill army to fight invaders from other neighbourhoods. At first his project baffles everyone, but eventually his dedication proves infectious, with delightful results...

Although “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” is set in the future, it is, in effect, set in an alternative reality of Chesterton's own period, with no advances in technology nor changes in the class system or attitudes of the time. It postulates an impersonal government, not described in any detail, but apparently content to operate through a figurehead king, who is randomly chosen.