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Original book cover of Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson. Public domain This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.
By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture, Jan 29, 2026
Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
Since the last three popes have all recommended Msgr. Robert Hugh Benson’s 1907 apocalyptic novel Lord of the World, perhaps a few words about this remarkable portrayal of the end times are in order. I first encountered it some forty to fifty years ago (at a guess), but I read it again over the past few days to refresh my memory.
As a mere technological vision of the future—surely a secondary or even tertiary point—the novel largely fails. There is nothing “Buck Rogerish” about a world in which air travel is achieved through aircraft with flapping wings (called volor). After all, the Wright brothers’ first flight was made four years before the publication of the novel. …
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