14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the price of world peace is giving up the idea of God?
In Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World, nations draw together and religion fades from public life. Father Percy Franklin, a quiet English Catholic priest, tries to remain faithful as his church shrinks. Around him, a humane new creed promises comfort and unity, leaving less room for belief in God.
Oliver Brand, an English politician, and his wife Mabel embrace the new order. Meanwhile, Julian Felsenburgh rises to worldwide fame as a man of peace. Their hopes stand against Percy’s faith in a novel that asks whether a society devoted to human unity can remain gentle toward those who believe differently.
What you’ll discover
- Peace with a price Explore a future where comfort and unity come with a demand to abandon God.
- A quiet, steadfast priest Follow Percy Franklin as he tries to stay faithful in a world moving away from belief.
- Hope in one man Meet Julian Felsenburgh, the American politician who draws the hopes of a weary age.
- Belief behind closed doors See how the creed Oliver and Mabel Brand embrace shapes both politics and private life.
- An argument worth facing Encounter Benson’s warning that unity placed above God may become a force of intolerance.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy future worlds with a moral edge, stories of faith under pressure, and novels where a few vivid people stand for great ideas.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Humanity takes the place of God
- Comfort cannot answer every question
- A private faith unsettles public certainty
- The peacemaker becomes an object of devotion
- The Church prepares to stand
- Public worship gives way to terror
- Unity demands obedience from every conscience
- Mirrors reveal the struggle over worship
- Large ideas enter ordinary lives
Who’s who
- Percy FranklinA white-haired young priest who reports on the state of England to Rome and holds fast to his faith while the world abandons it.
- Oliver BrandAn English politician and gifted speaker who believes in Humanity as God and rises in the new order.
- Mabel BrandOliver's wife, a serious and loving young woman who wants a creed she can feel, and who follows her husband's faith.
- Julian FelsenburghA quiet American delegate whose voice ends a war and who becomes the idol of a world seeking a savior.
- Father FrancisA priest whose faith slips away, and who later offers his skill with ceremony to the new worship.
- Mrs BrandOliver's elderly mother, brought up a Christian, who longs to return to the Church before she dies.
- Father BlackmoreAn older priest who senses a coming storm and cannot stop thinking about Felsenburgh.
- Papa AngelicusThe aged Pope who rules Rome as a city of prayer and agrees to found a new Order.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Lord of the World in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Lord of the World
by Robert Hugh Benson · 1907
A white-haired priest and a white-haired American president look alike, and the world must choose between them.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“Benson's novel-nightmare... is coming true before our very eyes.”
In short
What if the next ruler of the world looked exactly like the priest who stands against him? That question drives Lord of the World, a novel by Robert Hugh Benson, an English priest who finished it in 1907.
Lord of the World at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 35 min5 h 15 min fast, 7 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 94,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1907by Robert Hugh Benson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A future built on comfort and Humanity
The book opens in a living room forty feet beneath London. Old Mr Templeton, a Tory statesman over ninety, sits with two priests, Percy Franklin and Father Francis. He tells them how the world got here. A teacher spread pure materialism, Labour took power, and the old order fell. The Established Church was dropped, and secular teaching became the law.
Mr Templeton names three forces left in the contest: Catholicism, Humanitarianism and the Eastern religions. Humanitarianism has become a real religion, with the creed that God is Man. It offers comfort and asks nothing of the spirit. He expects the Catholics to shrink, and he sees hope only in the return of Christ.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1907
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Benson, Robert Hugh. Lord of the World. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-of-the-world.
Benson, R. H. (2026). Lord of the world. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-of-the-world (Original work published 1907)
Benson, Robert Hugh. Lord of the World. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-of-the-world.
@book{benson2026lord,
author = {Benson, Robert Hugh},
title = {Lord of the World},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-of-the-world},
note = {First published 1907}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Lord of the World
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Lord of the World about?
It follows a future Europe that has given up religion and worships Humanity. A political leader named Julian Felsenburgh rises to rule the world, while a young priest, Percy Franklin, and a small Church try to hold their faith.
Who is Julian Felsenburgh?
He is a quiet American delegate who ends a war between East and West by his speech and his personality. He becomes President of Europe and then of the world, and many people begin to worship him.
When was Lord of the World written, and is it a true story?
Robert Hugh Benson wrote it in 1907, and it is fiction set in the future. It imagines where trends of his day, such as socialism, secular teaching and humanitarian religion, might lead.
The author
Robert Hugh Benson
1871–1914 · English novelist and Catholic priest
Robert Hugh Benson (1871–1914) was a British writer and Catholic priest. He was born in Wellington, Somerset, England. Initially an Anglican priest, he became a Catholic in 1903 and was ordained in 1904. He wrote novels, including Lord of the World (1907) and The Necromancers (1909). He died in Salford, England.
“Peace, not war.”
More by Robert Hugh Benson
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
