''When William Came: A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns'' is a novel written by the British author

Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultu ...

(the pseudonym of Hector Hugh Munro) and published in November 1913. It is set several years in what was then the future, after a war between

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

in which the former won.

Plot

The "William" of the book's title is German Emperor

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

. The book chronicles life in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

under German occupation and the changes that come with a foreign army's invasion and triumph. Like

Robert Erskine Childers Robert Erskine Childers DSC (25 June 1870 – 24 November 1922), usually known as Erskine Childers (), was an English-born Irish writer, politician, and militant. His works included the influential novel '' The Riddle of the Sands''. Starting ...

's novel ''

The Riddle of the Sands ''The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service'' is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book, which enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I, is an early example of the espionage novel and was extremely influenti ...

'' (1903), it predicts the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(in which Saki would be killed) and is an example of

invasion literature Invasion literature (also the invasion novel) is a literary genre that was popular in the period between 1871 and the First World War (1914–1918). The invasion novel first was recognized as a literary genre in the UK, with the novella '' The ...

, a

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided in ...

which flourished at the beginning of the 20th century as tensions between the European great powers increased. Much of the book is an argument for

compulsory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, about which there was then a major controversy. The scene in which an Imperial Rescript is announced in a subjugated London, excusing the unmilitary British from serving in the Kaiser's armies, is particularly bitter. There are also several vignettes exemplifying the differences between the English and continental systems of law – Yeovil's wife informs him that she must register his presence with the police and later he is fined on the spot for walking on the grass in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

. In another episode, he finds himself unintentionally but unavoidably fraternising with one of the invaders.

Anthologies

It has been collected in: *'' England Invaded'' (1977) It has been reprinted with *

References

External links

The full text
of ''When William Came'' at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

. * * 1913 British novels Novels by Saki 1913 speculative fiction novels Novels set in London Fictional invasions of England {{1910s-specf-novel-stub

Plot

Anthologies

See also

References

External links