The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

Part surrealistic comedy, part psychological thriller, G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday inventively unravels the nightmare of paradox and surprise to probe the mysteries of human behavior. The seven members of Europe's Central Anarchist Council, who, for reasons of security, call themselves by the names of the days of the week, have sworn to destroy the world. But events soon cast doubt upon their real identities, for the man called Thursday is not the passionate young poet he claims to be. Put into context by Matthew Beaumont's introduction, which examines the novel's modernism, background, and depiction of turn-of-the-century London, The Man Who Was Thursday is both a brilliant thriller and a trenchant look at modern life.