Summary
Summary of The World Peril of 1910
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A rescue begins a dangerous rivalry
In Clifden, John Castellan sketches a machine that could move beneath the sea and rise into the air. But the inventor’s future becomes tied to a race rather than a drawing. When careless young men run down a girl’s skiff, Castellan and an Englishman swim to save her. The Englishman reaches her first by a yard.
The girl is an American heiress, and the defeat wounds Castellan’s pride. The story links this private rivalry to decisions that will one day determine the world’s fate.
Key idea 2
Castellan puts invention behind his hatred
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Key idea 3
Two discoveries reveal different dangers
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Key idea 4
Flying weapons expose Britain's weakness
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Key idea 5
Hatred turns strength into a mistake
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Key idea 6
A coal shaft becomes Earth's defense
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Key idea 7
The rescue faces refusal and coercion
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Key idea 8
Private rivalry carries a public cost
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
Readers who enjoy early science fiction, invasion stories and inventor heroes, and who like naval battles, big machines and a ticking clock over a whole planet. It will also delight anyone curious about how 1900s writers pictured air power.
What this book is
A swimming race in an Irish bay will one day decide the fate of the world. The World Peril of 1910 is an adventure novel by George Chetwynd Griffith, who died in 1906. It looks ahead to a great European war and joins it to a danger from space. A league of European powers attacks Britain with craft that fly in the air and dive beneath the sea. At the same moment a young astronomer sees something in the sky that will end all life on Earth in thirteen months.
In this summary
- 1A swimming race sets two rivals apartFree
- 2An inventor sells his secret to the Kaiser
- 3A sighting at sea and a doom among the stars
- 4Britain goes to war and a warship is born
- 5The Flying Fish strikes Portsmouth
- 6A great mistake and a trap at Spithead
- 7A cannon in a coal pit
- 8The Kaiser refuses, and Parmenter brings a fleet
- 9What the story is about and how it is told
Key point 1 of 9
A swimming race sets two rivals apart
The story opens in Clifden, on the Connemara coast. John Castellan, an Irish student and inventor, draws designs for a craft that can swim like a submarine and leap into the air like a flying fish. He hates England.
One day a girl dressed in white is run down in her skiff by a boat of careless young men. Castellan and an Englishman both dive in and swim four hundred yards to reach her. The Englishman, a former Cambridge swimmer, wins by a yard.
The girl is an American heiress. The prologue says that the decisions of these two men will one day decide the fate of the world. A prize, a loss and a pride that cannot forgive become the engine of the book.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What drives Castellan to put his invention at the service of Britain's enemies?
Right. “An Irish inventor's hatred of England drives the war.”Not quite. “An Irish inventor's hatred of England drives the war.”
How does Lennard plan to stop the comet?
Right. “It will strike the comet's head and blow it apart before it reaches the air.”Not quite. “It will strike the comet's head and blow it apart before it reaches the air.”
What condition does Castellan place on allowing the world to be saved?
Right. “He will not let the world be saved unless Auriole agrees to marry him, and if she refuses he will destroy the cannon.”Not quite. “He will not let the world be saved unless Auriole agrees to marry him, and if she refuses he will destroy the cannon.”
Questions about The World Peril of 1910
What is The World Peril of 1910 about?
It is about a European alliance that invades Britain with flying submarines built by an Irish inventor, while an astronomer discovers a comet that will destroy Earth and plans to stop it with a giant cannon.
Who is John Castellan?
John Castellan is an Irish inventor of Spanish descent who sells his Flying Fish to the German Emperor. He hates England, wants Irish independence, and has loved Auriole Parmenter since a swimming rescue.
What is the Ithuriel?
The Ithuriel is a British warship designed by Captain Erskine. She has no funnels, can sink until nearly awash, carries a huge ram and a suction screw, and can reach forty-five knots.
When was The World Peril of 1910 written and is it a true story?
It is a work of fiction by George Chetwynd Griffith, who died in 1906. It imagines a war and a comet set in 1909 and 1910, and reflects the invasion fears of its own time.
Is The World Peril of 1910 easy to follow?
It has short chapters, clear scenes, vivid battles and a steady pace, with the narrator explaining each machine as it appears. Two plots, one of war and one of the comet, move along together.
