London, 1984. England has given up on democracy and selects its rulers by lottery. This time it is the turn of clerk Auberon Quin, a prankster who decrees that each borough of London become an independent mediaeval state, complete with costumes and coats of arms.

The citizens bear his joke with varying levels of patience – until Adam Wayne, the intractable Provost of Notting Hill, sword in hand, takes the game far too seriously. First published in 1904, G. K. Chesterton's deliriously eccentric debut novel is a wild, topsy-turvy satire on a land ruled by fools.