6 h 19 minAudiobook12 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a king’s joke meets a man willing to fight for his own street?
In G. K. Chesterton’s imagined London of 1984, life is dull, orderly and run by clerks. Even the king is chosen by lot. When mischievous Auberon Quin gets the crown, he treats the country as material for a prank. But Adam Wayne of Notting Hill takes the nonsense seriously.
Wayne loves the streets where he grows up. When the authorities plan a road through his neighbourhood, sensible planning becomes a threat to everything he holds dear. With local shopkeepers and loyal friends beside him, he faces a city that sees little worth defending. Duels, sieges and street arguments give this clash of values the pace of adventure.
What you’ll discover
- A joker meets a believer Quin’s restless mischief meets Wayne’s fierce conviction, testing where laughter ends and loyalty begins.
- London streets worth defending Ordinary shops and familiar streets become the heart of an extraordinary struggle.
- Progress at what cost A proposed road pits practical plans against the value people find in places they love.
- Adventure with sharp questions Duels and sieges carry an argument about power, money and the things worth fighting for.
- Wit that unsettles certainty Chesterton’s teasing narrator uses paradox to challenge a world that thinks itself wise.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like satire, paradox and London stories, and anyone who enjoys ideas wrapped in adventure. It may be less suited to those who want realistic characters or a modern, fully believable picture of the future.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A future where nothing ever changes
- The king is chosen by lot
- A boy who loved his own street
- Wayne takes the nonsense seriously
- Notting Hill goes to war
- Power, money and the clash of two worlds
- Quin and Wayne: the joker and the believer
- What the story is really about
- How Chesterton tells it
Who’s who
- Adam WayneA serious, red-haired man from Notting Hill who loves his neighbourhood so much that he will fight for every street of it.
- Auberon QuinA mischievous government clerk chosen as king by lot, who treats the whole country as material for his jokes.
- BarkerA sober, conventional friend of Quin's who stands for the practical mood of the age.
- LambertA companion of Barker and Quin, serious-minded and conventional, who fits the orderly future.
- Mr. BuckA brisk and clever businessman who wants to drive a new road through the old streets and cannot see why anyone would object.
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Der Napoleon von Notting Hill
by G. K. Chesterton· 1904
A king's joke turns neighbourhood pride into armed conflict.
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Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A future where nothing ever changes
The novel opens with a long, teasing look at the future. Chesterton says that people who predict the future simply take the trends of their own day and stretch them out. He then does the same thing with a straight face, so that the reader sees the joke. In his 1984, London looks much as it does now, only duller. Democracy has faded and nobody bothers to vote.
The government is a polite and efficient bureaucracy. Wars have ended because the nations are too tired and too sensible to fight. People no longer believe in anything strongly enough to risk a quarrel about it. The great cause of the age is that nothing should be a cause.
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The author
G. K. Chesterton
1874–1936 · English writer and Christian apologist
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) was an English writer born in London. He wrote novels, essays, poems and plays. His books include Heretics (1905), The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) and The Innocence of Father Brown (1911). He moved to Beaconsfield in 1909 and lived there until his death.
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What is The Napoleon of Notting Hill about?
It is a comic fantasy set in a future London where a clerk becomes king and orders each district to have its own flag and title. One man takes this seriously and defends his neighbourhood as a nation.
When was The Napoleon of Notting Hill written?
Chesterton published it in 1904. It is a work of fiction, set in an imagined future of 1984, and it was written when debates about empire and the Boer War were fresh in people's minds.
Who is Adam Wayne?
Adam Wayne is the red-haired young man from Notting Hill who loves his district deeply. He takes the king's joking decrees as real law and leads the defence of his streets.
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