
The Man Who was Thursday
'The Man Who was Thursday' Summary
In Victorian-era London, Gabriel Syme is recruited at Scotland Yard to a secret anti-anarchist police corps. Lucian Gregory, an anarchistic poet, lives in the suburb of Saffron Park. Syme meets him at a party and they debate the meaning of poetry. Gregory argues that revolt is the basis of poetry. Syme demurs, insisting the essence of poetry is not revolution but law. He antagonises Gregory by asserting that the most poetical of human creations is the timetable for the London Underground. He suggests Gregory isn't really serious about anarchism, which so irritates Gregory that he takes Syme to an underground anarchist meeting place, under oath not to disclose its existence to anyone, revealing his public endorsement of anarchy is a ruse to make him seem harmless, when in fact he is an influential member of the local chapter of the European anarchist council.
The central council consists of seven men, each using the name of a day of the week as a cover; the position of Thursday is about to be elected by Gregory's local chapter. Gregory expects to win the election but just before, Syme reveals to Gregory after an oath of secrecy that he is a secret policeman. In order to make Syme think that the anarchists are harmless after all, Gregory speaks very unconvincingly to the local chapter, so that they feel that he is not zealous enough for the job. Syme makes a rousing anarchist speech in which he denounces everything that Gregory has said and wins the vote. He is sent immediately as the chapter's delegate to the central council.
In his efforts to thwart the council, Syme eventually discovers that five of the other six members are also undercover detectives; each was employed just as mysteriously and assigned to defeat the Council. They soon find out they were fighting each other and not real anarchists; such was the mastermind plan of their president, Sunday. In a surreal conclusion, Sunday is unmasked as only seeming to be terrible; in fact, he is a force of good like the detectives. Sunday is unable to give an answer to the question of why he caused so much trouble and pain for the detectives. Gregory, the only real anarchist, seems to challenge the good council. His accusation is that they, as rulers, have never suffered like Gregory and their other subjects and so their power is illegitimate. Syme refutes the accusation immediately, because of the terrors inflicted by Sunday on the rest of the council.
The dream ends when Sunday is asked if he has ever suffered. His last words, "can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?", is the question Jesus asks St. James and St. John in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, vs 38–39, a rhetorical question intended to demonstrate that the disciples are wrong to covet his glory because they are unable to bear the suffering for the sins of the world for which he is destined.
Book Details
Authors

Gilbert K. Chesterton
England
Chesterton wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4,000 essays (mostly newspaper columns), and several plays. He was a literary and social critic, historian, playwright,...
Books by Gilbert K. ChestertonDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books

Schatzinsel by Robert Louis Stevenson
Schatzinsel, originally published in English as Treasure Island, is a classic adventure novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. The story follows the advent...

Double Crossed by Wilfrid Douglas Newton
It follows a young woman named Beatrice Wray who becomes embroiled in a dangerous game of espionage and deceit. When her fiancé, who is a British secr...

The Secret by William Cosmo Monkhouse
LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 different recordings of The Secret by Cosmo Monkhouse. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of November 4t...

Mysteries of Paris - Volume 3 by Eugène Sue
This volume of "Mysteries of Paris" continues the compelling story of Rodolphe, a man of noble birth living in disguise as a Parisian laborer. His ext...

misterio de la casa roja by A. A. Milne
En 'El misterio de la casa roja', el reconocido autor de Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne, incursiona en el género del misterio. La historia se desarrolla...

Murder Madness by Murray Leinster
In 'Murder Madness!', a chilling tale of espionage and danger, seven Secret Service agents vanish without a trace. One agent is found, but transforme...

Ribbon in the Sky by Murray Leinster
It is an engaging and adventurous book perfect for young readers. This captivating story takes readers on a thrilling journey through a world of imagi...

Mary Louise by L. Frank Baum
Mary Louise Burrows, a fifteen-year-old girl with an unusual level of maturity, is thrown into a world of espionage and intrigue when her beloved gran...

The Confession by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Mary Roberts Rinehart is claimed to have invented the "Had I but known" mystery genre. When Agnes Blakiston rented the old parsonage at Miss Emily's r...

Rover Boys on the Ocean by Arthur M. Winfield
The Rover Boys, known for their adventurous spirit, find themselves embarking on a perilous journey across the vast ocean. When their father is myster...
Reviews for The Man Who was Thursday
No reviews posted or approved, yet...