London and the Spectre of Anarchy: Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday as Urban History

Summary

This article discusses how the criminal threat of anarchist attack was treated in G.K. Chesterton’s novel, The Man Who Was Thursday. The novel captures a particular moment of public concern about terrorism and serves as an object of cultural history in its depiction of London as a den of crime. The plot focuses on an undercover policeman who infiltrates a terror cell. The kind of terrorism depicted was a real threat, yet Chesterton parodied both the aspirations of anarchists, and the anti-terror efforts of law enforcement. This article considers the historical background of anarchism and how the history of the city is part of the novel’s framework.

Opsomming

Hierdie artikel is ʼn bespreking van hoe die kriminele bedreiging van anargistiese aanval hanteer is in GK Chesterton se roman, The Man Who Was Thursday. ʼn Bepaalde oomblik van openbare kommer oor terreur word in die roman vasgelê en dit dien as ʼn objek van kulturele geskiedenis in die uitbeelding van Londen as ʼn misdaadnes. Die intrige fokus op ʼn geheime polisieman wat ʼn terreursel infiltreer. Die aard van die terreur wat uitgebeeld word, was werklik ʼn bedreiging; tog het Chesterton die anargiste se aspirasies, sowel as die anti-terreur-pogings van wets-toepassing geparodieer. In hierdie artikel word die historiese agtergrond van anargisme, en hoe die geskiedenis van die stad deel van die roman se raamwerk is, bestudeer.