G.K. Chesterton's 1908 masterpiece, The Man Who Was Thursday, is a metaphysical thriller, and a detective story filled with poetry and politics. Gabriel Syme is a poet and a police detective. Lucian Gregory is a poet and a bomb-throwing anarchist. Syme infiltrates a secret meeting of anarchists and becomes 'Thursday', one of the seven members of the Central Anarchist Council. He soon learns, however, that he is not the only one in disguise, and the nightmare begins
Read More
G.K. Chesterton's 1908 masterpiece, The Man Who Was Thursday, is a metaphysical thriller, and a detective story filled with poetry and politics. Gabriel Syme is a poet and a police detective. Lucian Gregory is a poet and a bomb-throwing anarchist. Syme infiltrates a secret meeting of anarchists and becomes 'Thursday', one of the seven members of the Central Anarchist Council. He soon learns, however, that he is not the only one in disguise, and the nightmare begins
Read Less
I finally bought this book after years of hearing about it. I found it slightly dated, but still a good,comical read. Basically, an undercover detective unwittingly befriends a real anarchist, who introduces him into his "underground" anarchy group/ club. The detective, having further outwitted the "real" anarchist, takes over a position the anarchist was meant for. What follows is a right-side up turn of the world the detective thought he knew. The book has a little bit of a Wonderland feel to it, but for adults. It's short, only about 150, 160 pages, so it's a quick read as well. Chersterton artfully unfolds the story and I reccommend this book to anyone wanting a quick, clever detective tale.