THE BATTLE OF DORKING (1871)
Chesney, George Tomkyns, Sir, 1830-1895, The battle of Dorking: reminiscences of a volunteer (Edinburgh ; London : Blackwood, 1871) [Heisler] P4150
Chesney’s novella was reprinted in this pamphlet form after great success in Blackwood’s Magazine, and, while largely forgotten today, it was an important precursor of a class of novels depicting alternative futures. Chesney describes with studied realism the invasion of the unprepared British Isles by a German-speaking army, and he intended the book to be propaganda for greater investment in the military and for national service. The literary vision of successful German invasion has been repeated by, amongst others, Saki’s When William Came: A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns (1913) and Noel Coward’s play Peace in Our Time (1947).
