The Angel of the Revolution
George Griffith
Read by Kevin Green
The Angel of the Revolution: A Tale of the Coming Terror (1893) is a science fiction novel by English writer George Griffith. It was his first published novel and remains his most famous work. It was first published in Pearson's Weekly and was prompted by the success of The Great War of 1892 in Black and White magazine, which was itself inspired by The Battle of Dorking.
A lurid mix of Jules Verne's futuristic air warfare fantasies, the utopian visions of News from Nowhere and the future war invasion literature of Chesney and his imitators, it tells the tale of a group of terrorists who conquer the world through airship warfare. Led by a crippled, brilliant Russian Jew and his daughter, the 'angel' Natasha, 'The Brotherhood of Freedom' establish a 'pax aeronautica' over the earth after a young inventor masters the technology of flight in 1903. The hero falls in love with Natasha and joins in her war against society in general and the Russian Czar in particular. It correctly forecasts the coming of a great war, but in pretty well all other respects widely misses the mark of the real events that followed. Nevertheless, it is a gripping and exciting story of intrigue and plot interwoven with love and romance played over a background of world war. - Summary by Wikipedia (13 hr 58 min)
Chapters
01- At the Eleventh Hour | 15:08 | Read by Kevin Green |
02 - At War with Society | 16:12 | Read by Kevin Green |
03 - A Friendly Chat | 13:40 | Read by Kevin Green |
04 - The House on Clapham Common | 14:23 | Read by Kevin Green |
05 - The Inner Circle | 17:02 | Read by Kevin Green |
06 - New Friends | 20:18 | Read by Kevin Green |
07 - The Daughter of Natas | 17:02 | Read by Kevin Green |
08 - Learning the Part | 19:34 | Read by Kevin Green |
09 - The Beginning of Sorrows | 17:22 | Read by Kevin Green |
10 - The Ariel | 17:09 | Read by Kevin Green |
11 - First Blood | 14:28 | Read by Kevin Green |
12 - In The Master's Name | 12:15 | Read by Kevin Green |
13 - For Life or Death | 14:05 | Read by Kevin Green |
14 - The Psychological Moment | 10:07 | Read by Kevin Green |
15 - A Voyage of Discovery | 14:01 | Read by Kevin Green |
16 - A Wooing in Mid Air | 20:42 | Read by Kevin Green |
17 - Aeria Felix | 15:54 | Read by Kevin Green |
18 - A Navy of the Future | 17:47 | Read by Kevin Green |
19 - The Eve of Battle | 13:36 | Read by Kevin Green |
20 - Between Two Lives | 27:52 | Read by Kevin Green |
21 - Just in Time | 18:54 | Read by Kevin Green |
22 - Armed Neutrality | 14:32 | Read by Kevin Green |
23 - A Battle in the Night | 21:57 | Read by Kevin Green |
24 - The New Warfare | 19:08 | Read by Kevin Green |
25 - The Heralds of Disaster | 11:38 | Read by Kevin Green |
26 - An Interlude | 16:59 | Read by Kevin Green |
27 - On the Track of Treason | 14:30 | Read by Kevin Green |
28 - A Skirmish in the Clouds | 15:15 | Read by Kevin Green |
29 - An Embassy from the Sky | 19:25 | Read by Kevin Green |
30 - At Close Quarters | 17:14 | Read by Kevin Green |
31 - A Russian Raid | 15:30 | Read by Kevin Green |
32 - The End of the Chase | 11:48 | Read by Kevin Green |
33 - The Breaking of the Charm | 9:17 | Read by Kevin Green |
34 - The Path of Conquest | 15:18 | Read by Kevin Green |
35 - From Chaos to Arcadie | 17:58 | Read by Kevin Green |
36 - Love and Duty | 19:05 | Read by Kevin Green |
37 - The Capture of a Continent | 29:12 | Read by Kevin Green |
38 - The Beginning of the End | 13:09 | Read by Kevin Green |
39 - The Battle of Dover | 13:10 | Read by Kevin Green |
40 - Beleaguered London | 14:12 | Read by Kevin Green |
41 - An Envoy of Deliverance | 14:05 | Read by Kevin Green |
42 - The Eve of Armageddon | 16:01 | Read by Kevin Green |
43 - The Old Lion at Bay | 15:27 | Read by Kevin Green |
44 - The Turn of the Battle-Tide | 16:13 | Read by Kevin Green |
45 - Armageddon | 16:49 | Read by Kevin Green |
46 - Victory | 16:13 | Read by Kevin Green |
47 - The Judgement of Natas | 23:35 | Read by Kevin Green |
48 - The Ordering of Europe | 20:52 | Read by Kevin Green |
49 - The Story of the Master | 25:33 | Read by Kevin Green |
Epilogue - And on Earth Peace | 17:00 | Read by Kevin Green |
Reviews
My second listening
psichick
This is as engrossing as any novel I've ever read or listened to. It's so utterly thrilling & so sublimely romantic that I found myself - again - crying both tears of sadness & tears of joy; sitting & staring wide-eyed, in full light nonetheless, straight into the utterance of every word; lying in the dark unable to sleep, watching the story unfold & hearing every participant as if I was a nearby observer. Utter brilliance.
Thankful in Borneo
Lord Jim
I am thankful for coming across this author and book. I'm equally thankful for discovering Kevin Green; one of the best narrators I have had the pleasure of hearing. I'm so impressed with Kevin's craft. He has this rare ability to narrate with perfect rhythm and intonation and to give each character their own voice - totally absorbing. I will now be searching for books narrated by Kevin...irrespective of genre. The book itself is a wonderful account of a principled position and has scientific and technology ideas so advanced for the time; difficult to believe this book was written in the late 19th Century. I loved it, and as a long time Joseph Conrad fan, appreciated the English and turn of phrase. Very happy to recommend....it's a real treat.
I'm utterly amazed that this novel isn't as well known as others in the genre!
psichick
Thank-you, Kevin, for your sublime rendering of this most amazing novel. The Angel of the Revolution is a terrifying one for most who hear or read it; even I was often troubled by the means used to achieve what are it's profoundly beautiful ends. I will not say anymore for fear of revealing too much. I highly recommend this to anyone whose ever dreamed, or for that matter, has taken action to help achieve, a world fueled by peace, harmony, fairness, & love, at any cost.
Rick
enjoyed the story but thought it was strange that in the middle they switched from Communists to white supremacists. no wonder the German national socialists thought that England would be an ally in the Second World War. also thought it strange that the white supremacists were led by a Jew. other than the Nazi stuff I thought the story was well written and the reader did a great job! obviously the story was good enough that I finished it.
Brilliant!
zeppelfahrt
Kevin Green deserves the highest praise for his vivid narration of this strange and fascinating tale. Highly recommended not only for "steampunk" fans, but also for any in search of a fast paced adventure with intrigue, romance and excitement on a grand scale. Wow!
Thoroughly enjoyable!
RofVT
Kevin Green’s narration of what is already a thoroughly enjoyable book raises The Angel of the Revolution to an entirely new level, one that consumes the listener’s attention and draws the listener directly into the narrative.
great book!
A LibriVox Listener
I'm surprised someone hasn't made a movie from this book
Surprisingly a great book. Well read.
Stephen Bradshaw