The Napoleon of Notting Hill

The Napoleon of Notting Hill is a novel written by G. K. Chesterton and originally published in 1904. It is the author's first novel and was quite relevant.

The novel is set in the city of London in the year 1984, that is, 80 years after the novel was written. The plot narrates how the residents of a neighborhood of the city rebel and become independent from England.

Despite being set in the future, Chesterton does not make use of science fiction elements or technological advances, but only a scenario to frame his argument. The author poses a future scenario in which the most valid and prepared will not want to govern because of the responsibility that comes with it, and the general population does not trust governments and is indifferent to them, even with some resentment.

Two characters will face, with opposite perspectives, the inertia of a quiet era in which faith in revolutions has been lost.

It could be considered a futuristic fantasy, although really the future posed is very similar to the time in which it was written. It could also be classified as political satire or prophetic tale.