{"product_id":"the-man-who-was-thursday-9780486251219","title":"The Man Who Was Thursday","description":"\"... An extraordinary book, written as if the publisher had commissioned him to write something rather like \u003ci\u003eThe Pilgrim's Progress\u003c\/i\u003e in the style of \u003ci\u003eThe Pickwick Papers\u003c\/i\u003e.\"--Msgr. Ronald Knox\u003cbr\u003ePerhaps best known to the general public as creator of the \"Father Brown\" detective stories, G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was especially renowned for his wit, rhetorical brilliance and talent for ingenious and revealing paradox. Those qualities are richly abundant in the present volume, a hilarious, fast-paced tale about a club of anarchists in turn-of-the- century London.\u003cbr\u003eThe story begins when Gabriel Syme, a poet and member of a special group of philosophical policemen, attends a secret meeting of anarchists, whose leaders are named for the days of the week, and all of whom are sworn to destroy the world. Their chief is the mysterious Sunday--huge, boisterous, full of vitality, a wild personage who may be a Chestertonian vision of God or nature or both. When Syme, actually an undercover detective, is unexpectedly elected to fill a vacancy on the Anarchists' Central Council, the plot takes the first of many surprising twists and turns.\u003cbr\u003eThe poet\/sleuth is soon caught up in a deadly scheme to bomb a meeting in Paris of the Czar and the President of the French Republic. The story grows steadily more bizarre, at the same time serving as a vehicle for Chesterton's philosophical, political and religious speculations, cloaked in cheerful irreverence, and pointed wit: \"You've got that eternal idiotic idea that if anarchy came it would come from the poor. Why should it? The poor have been rebels, but they have never been anarchists; they have more interest than anyone else in there being some decent government. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.\"\u003cbr\u003eSuch perceptions, expressed with profound good humor, add a delightful dimension of interest to this inventive and readable allegorical puzzle. In Dover's inexpensive paperbound edition, completely reset in new type for easier reading, \u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Was Thursday \u003c\/i\u003ewill delight any reader who relishes clever plotting, delicious irony and rousing adventure in a novel in which\"...the wisdom flashes out in star-showers: (Baker and Packman, \u003ci\u003eA Guide to the Best Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWidely known as the \"Prince of Paradox,\" G. K. Chesterton was one of the most influential English writers and thinkers of the 20th century. Chesterton's prodigious talents embraced a wide range of subjects, from philosophy and religion to detective fiction and fantasy. And while his writings are light and whimsical, they are filled with direct and honest truths.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50877879353618,"sku":"9780486251219","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_94d2bb48-018e-4989-804f-2aa65dada920.jpg?v=1748521346","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-man-who-was-thursday-9780486251219","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}