I knew very little about The Napoleon of Notting Hill, except that it was set in London and would allow me to check off another book from my ‘Literature in London’ list. Although I’ve heard of him, I’ve never read any Gilbert Keith Chesterton and I don’t even know which books he’s most famous for. As with all the Bookclub Too books so far, The Napoleon of Notting Hill is quite unlike anything else I’ve read. Written in 1904, set in the 1980s but with 15th-century weapons and clothes!

The establishing chapters of The Napoleon of Notting Hill read like political satire, though the latter half feels more like offbeat speculative fiction. Aubern Quin, the main character, is probably intended to be a comic character; he certainly believes he’s playing a great joke on the city of London. Even for readers who don’t gel with Chesterton’s sense of humour, there’s plenty to keep them interested in both the story and the writing.

While the overall plot (or what there is of one) wasn’t particularly compelling, many of the threads woven into The Napoleon of Notting Hill were thought-provoking. An essay could be written about the uses of colour, for example, and G K Chesterton’s take on using urban landscape as inspiration for art was interesting. The ending reflected back on all that had gone before in a way that invited contemplating of life in general, despite the absurdity of some of the plot’s events.

Overall, I’m not sure what I got out of The Napoleon of Notting Hill was what G K Chesterton intended, but I’m glad I read it and I think I’ll continue to process and digest it before I ultimately return to it at a later date.