''The Flying Inn'' is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1914. It is set in a future England where the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

has allowed a bizarre form of "Progressive" Islam to dominate the political and social life of the country. Because of this, alcohol sales to the poor are effectively prohibited, while the rich can get alcoholic drinks "under a medical certificate". The plot centres on the adventures of Humphrey Pumph (see also the

Humphrey pump The Humphrey pump is a large internal combustion gas-fuelled liquid-piston pump. They were used for large-scale water supply projects. They were only popular for a short time, from around 1910 to the outbreak of World War I, but they continued in ...

) and Captain Patrick Dalroy, who roam the country in their cart with a barrel of rum in an attempt to evade Prohibition, exploiting loopholes in the law to temporarily prevent the police taking action against them. Eventually the heroes and their followers foil an attempted coup by an Islamic military force. The novel includes the poem, ''

The Rolling English Road "The Rolling English Road" is one of the best-known poems by G. K. Chesterton. It was first published under the title "A Song of Temperance Reform" in the ''New Witness'' in 1913. It was also included in the novel by Chesterton, '' The Flying Inn ...

''. The poem was first published under the title ''A Song of Temperance Reform'' in the ''New Witness'' in 1913.

References

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External links

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Internet Archive versionGoogle Books version (full view)
* * Iain Benson(e
"The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton"
1914 British novels 1914 speculative fiction novels Picaresque novels Novels by G. K. Chesterton Methuen Publishing books John Lane (publisher) books Works about Islamism Islam in fiction {{1910s-adventure-novel-stub