A book about the Antichrist that every Catholic should read

Robert Hugh Benson’s 'Lord of the World' is a classic, trailblazing work of dystopian fiction that eerily foresees our own anti-Catholic times.

Everyone has heard of The Lord of the Rings, the fantasy epic by Tolkien. Some might have read the book. Others might only have seen the film adaptation by Peter Jackson, which is returning to movie theaters this month. But far fewer people will have heard of Lord of the World, a dystopian fantasy by Robert Hugh Benson, which is a literary classic that every Catholic should know.

Before we look at Lord of the World itself, let’s get to know the author, Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson, whose conversion to Catholicism in 1903 was almost as controversial as the earlier conversion of John Henry Newman.
The reason for the controversy was that Benson was the youngest son of E.W. Benson, who had been the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1882 until his death in 1896. The fact that the son of the leader of the worldwide Anglican communion had become a Catholic signaled that the Catholic Revival was gaining credence and momentum in the highest levels of British culture.

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