Lord of the World

By Robert Hugh Benson

Book Overview

"Lord of the World" is a prophetic and chilling dystopian novel that explores the ultimate conflict between secular humanism and traditional faith. Set in a future where technological progress and global unity have marginalized religious belief, the story follows the rise of Julian Felsenburgh, a charismatic leader who promises world peace through a godless, humanitarian ideology. Standing against this new world order is Father Percy Franklin, a humble priest witnessing the systematic dismantling of the Church.

Written by Robert Hugh Benson, this masterpiece of apocalyptic literature delves into themes of state-sanctioned euthanasia, the loss of individual conscience, and the dramatic tensions between materialist philosophy and spiritual conviction. As the world moves toward an inevitable climax, "Lord of the World" remains a profound meditation on the nature of power, the fragility of faith, and the cost of a utopia built on the rejection of the divine. It is widely considered one of the earliest and most influential modern dystopian novels, prefiguring later classics of the genre while maintaining a uniquely theological perspective on the end of history.

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1025811488
• ISBN13: 9781025811482
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Tradd Street Press
• Length: 388 Pages
• Weight: 1.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Last of All

R.H. Benson wrote two mystical visions of the future. _The Dawn of All_ is an extremely romantic and improbable 1911 parable of a 1971 world mostly Catholic and at peace, ready for the Second Coming. _The Lord of the World_ came first, in 1907, and was a darker vision. A world of flying craft, major scientific advances, and comfort has become a place of materialist despair. Euthanasia is routine, for the desperately ill and the terminally bored. Oliver and Mabel Brand, a rising young couple, are the golden ones -- Oliver becomes a major political figure, but Mabel chooses the cool despairing end of legal euthanasia. Father Percy Franklin is one of the last Catholic priests in a world hostile to freedom, church, university, and history. Eventually elected the last Pope, he is restricted to the dusty forgotten village of Nazareth. Julian Felsenburgh is a charismatic American adventurer who means to and does become Lord of the World, anti-Christ. Details are less important than the very modern mood. Believing in progress as the only good, people are swept into any movement that promises it. The past is ruthlessly exterminated. The quest for one world government that begins with Esperanto ends with one world dictatorship.

An excellent edition of a classic book

This is an excellent edition of Benson's classic work. Unlike many other recent editions of Benson's books (Come Rack Come Rope, Oddsfish, etc.), this edition has not been abridged.It is the story of the future world from a turn of the century vantage point. Protestantism has fizzled, the Mason's have triumphed, and Catholicism is on the defensive. The world has divided into three parties, and a silver tongued savior comes to save the day. Benson believed that armageddon would more likely result from smooth talking and twisted ideologies than from naked evil.Although Benson may have over estimated the Masons and underestimated Protestants, he makes many surprisingly accurate predictions. The rhetoric used by the Bolshevists in Russia, the Nazi's in Germany, and the parties of the Spanish civil war was foreseen by Benson. The great white line Hitler painted around the Vatican and the Atomic bomb were also not beyond Benson's imagination. Unfortunately, only a small audience will appreciate this book, but that audience should include all Catholics who take ideas and the modern threat seriously. This book helps explain the beauty of pre-Vatican II ceremonies without siding against the changes of Vatican II.

The End of the World, Catholic Style!

As an evangelical with strong Catholic sympathies, I was excited to discover "Lord of the World" for another twist on the "Left Behind" scenario. The author writes at the dawn of the twentieth century and hits a few predictions about our world dead-on. But better yet is the sense of gravity Benson conveys in the novel. You really feel the earth coming to a conclusion, the ultimate clash of faith in God versus faith in Man.

Marvelous analysis of the end times and concurrent events

Msgr. Robert Benson analyses the end times and the influence of the antichrist upon government, individuals, and even the Church. His insightful approach and convincing arguments offer much for meditation regarding the direction of modern thought. Written at the turn of the century, Msgr. Benson's novel announces the conclusions of such trends with chilling accuracy. His style is simple, yet captivating, and far from striking terror and fear into his readers, however, Benson inspires with the Faith and the truths of salvation within the Church.