The Man Who Was Thursday

“A powerful picture of the loneliness and bewilderment which each of us encounters in his single-handed struggle with the universe.”
—C. S. Lewis

Part detective story, part surreal thriller, and part social commentary, The Man Who Was Thursday is a masterpiece of literary fiction by the brilliant G. K. Chesterton. The story centers around seven anarchists in turn-of-the-century London who call themselves by the days of the week. Fearing an impending act of terrorism, Gabriel Syme is sent by Scotland Yard to infiltrate their ranks by becoming “Thursday.” Elected undercover into the Central European Council of anarchists, Syme must avoid detection and save the world from future bombings.

Beyond the excitement of an elephant chase, duels, elaborate disguises, and a hot-air balloon pursuit through the streets of London, Chesterton is most interested in the battle of ideas. Indeed, his real agenda is to expose the moral relativism and parlor nihilism of his day as the devils he believed them to be. Chesterton’s classic novella tackles anarchy, social order, God, peace, war, religion, and human nature, somehow managing to combine them all into a delightful tale full of biting social commentary that is still relevant today.