The Napoleon of Notting Hill
by Gilbert Keith Chesterton · first published 1904
53% recommend47% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A short, witty satirical novel set in a future London where the king is chosen by lot. Its humor, paradoxes and parallels to modern politics make it a quick, entertaining read.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A witty and surreal novel of the future. In a rather dull stuck-in-a-rut future, a prankster chosen randomly to be King of England revives the old ways and inadvertently arouses romantic patriotism and civil war between the boroughs of London.
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For a particularly dramatic example of this, read G.K. Chesterton's _The Napoleon of Notting Hill_. In the book, England, late in a long and uneventful history, is governed by lot; a randomly-chosen individual is crowned King and given dictatorial powers. Eventually, the lot falls on a bored nihilist…
on “Sortition” ↗This is almost the exact premise of The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton [1] It's set in 1984 (predating Orwell's use of the same date) and considers the breakup of London into city-states each based on a particular borough. It's a very short book, but…
on “I set up the petition for London's independence. Here's how it would work” ↗I'm a big G.K. Chesterton fan in general, but his Introductory Remarks on the Art of Prophecy (chapter 1 of The Napoleon of Notting Hill) is one of my all-time faves. The opening paragraph: > The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the…
on “Life Is a Ponzi Scheme (2009)” ↗In 1904, G.K. Chesterton wrote a fun novel about 1984 London where the king was chosen by lottery called The Napoleon of Notting Hill. I picked it up after the 2016 election since that seemed like such an anomaly. There are some interesting explorations of human nature, and of course you can draw parallels to modern times without too…
on “Elections are flawed -it’s time to start choosing our representatives by lottery” ↗My favorite is from _The Napoleon of Notting Hill_ by G. K. Chesterton: ---- "Poet, whose cunning carved this amorous shell, \ Where twain may dwell." "The peculiarity of these fine though feminine lines," continued "Thunderbolt," "is, as we have…
on “Obsolete Sounds: collection of disappearing sounds and extinct sounds” ↗You might like G. K. Chesterton's _The Napoleon of Notting Hill_ if you haven't already read it (neighborhood regionalism at its finest!)
on “Designed for Rural Living” ↗I recommend Roald Dahl's "Going Solo". The Audiobook narrated by Andrew Sachs is quite compelling. Also, maybe "The Napoleon of Notting Hill" by G.K. Chesterton. And of course most by P.G. Wodehouse.
on “Worst Opening Sentences of 2022” ↗If you're interested in a literary take on this concept, read "The Napoleon of Notting Hill" by G.K. Chesterton in 1904. Available on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20058/20058-h/20058-h.htm
on “We Should Let a Lottery Decide Our Government (2019)” ↗…MacNab_ (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/161001.John_MacNab / http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300621.txt) * _The Postman_ (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/889284.The_Postman) Adult * _The Napoleon of Notting Hill_ (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/20058/20058-h/20058-h.htm) - what is the right size for things in this world? A gentle introduction to the romance of the small and distributism. * _A Leaf, by Nigel_…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…fair amount of his books that was very of-the-moment, making references to people from the time that I suppose were well known then that you need to read around. I've only read two of his fiction books (Napoleon of Notting Hill and The Man who was Thursday), both of which are really funny.
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗…friends with or friendly with some of the leading authors of the day whom he criticized, notably Shaw. His use of paradox is highly entertaining too and he made it into something of an art form. The Napoleon of Notting Hill is a fun read (he is notable for supporting distributism); his essays are very enjoyable too.
on “I Can Tolerate Anything Except the Outgroup (2014)” ↗That's the plot of GK Chesterton's Napoleon of Notting Hill. Also how some ancient Greek city states used to elect their leaders.
on “E.O. Wilson on Introversion, the Limits of IQ, and Where Ideas Come From” ↗Chuckles - Gödel's Inanity Theorem sounds suspiciously like the game of "Cheat the Prophet" from G. K. Chesterton's The Napoleon of Notting Hill [1]: > The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning ... The players listen very carefully and respectfully to all that the clever men…
on “Why This Tech Bubble is Worse Than the Tech Bubble of 2000” ↗Intro to The Napoleon of Notting Hill, by G.K. Chesterton: "THE human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the…
on “What We Get Wrong About Technology” ↗…race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do it till the end, which is a nuisance for the few people who grow up." ~ The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0605571h.html
on “The Lyttle Lytton Contest” ↗