Programming note: Tomorrow, Sunday, I'll be here with Part Twenty-Six, a very war-centred episode, of the twentieth-anniversary audio serialisation of my highly prescient bestseller, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It.
~Welcome to Part Nine of a Mohammedan caper by Sax Rohmer from 1914 - The Quest of the Sacred Slipper. Thank you for all your comments on this tale. Veronica, a Steyn Clubber in Auckland, is not impressed:
This book should really have been called The Quest of the Stolen Slipper OR How A Silly and Self-Important Professor Swiped A Holy Relic, Introduced A Terror Organisation Into England, Got Several People Killed and Maimed Including Himself And Generally Ruined Everyone's Life For No Good Reason.
To be known as 'QSS' for short :)
True dystopian fiction indeed!
PS. This story is undoubtedly fast paced and a lot of fun, Golden Age England before WW1 and the 1920 Firearms Act is almost unbeatable as a setting, however it must also be said that Professor Deeping is a total ass and in many ways the true villain of the piece. Hassan of Aleppo, his gruesome methods notwithstanding, has a genuine grievance.
In tonight's episode, our protagonists come round to Veronica's way of thinking:
"Owing to Professor Deeping's will you are badly involved in the beastly business, and I have no doubt you are keen to see it through."
"I am," I admitted, "and the end I look for and hope for is the recovery of the slipper by its murderous owners!"
"I am with you," said Bristol. "It's just a point of honour; but I should be glad to make them a present of it."
Alas, the night brings other developments. Members of The Mark Steyn Club can listen to Part Nine of our adventure simply by clicking here and logging-in. Earlier episodes can be found here.
By the way, if you like the music from Tales for Our Time, you can enjoy a wide selection of it - by Brahms, Glinka, Mahler, Mussorgsky and more - here.
If you've yet to hear any of our Tales for Our Time, you can do so by joining The Mark Steyn Club, now in its ninth year. Membership is available now - and, if you sign up, you'll be all set for Part Ten of The Quest of the Sacred Slipper this time tomorrow (and all the earlier episodes, of course). And, if you've a friend who likes classic fiction, don't forget our special Gift Membership. Oh, and aside from audio fiction, we also do video poetry.
