Hartmann, the Anarchist

In Short

This 1893 science fiction novel imagines a near-future London besieged by an anarchist revolutionary who has mastered flight. By combining the tropes of the Victorian "invasion" story with the era’s anxieties regarding revolutionary socialism and dynamite outrages, the narrative explores the catastrophic potential of a singular, untethered genius. It remains a fascinating relic of early speculative fiction, capturing the specific dread of a world that fears its own rapid technological advancement might outpace its capacity for moral and civil governance.

The Story

The narrative centers on an unnamed narrator, a socialist who nonetheless advocates for constitutional order rather than chaos. Through an acquaintance named Burnett, he is drawn into a clandestine world where the legendary anarchist Hartmann—long presumed dead—is revealed to be alive and operating from a secret, technologically advanced airship called the Attila. This vessel, powered by a revolutionary silvery-grey substance that achieves flight, serves as the engine for a global anarchist insurrection.

Intrigued by the sheer novelty of the craft and his own complex curiosity, the narrator joins the crew of the Attila. He finds himself an uneasy observer on a journey that takes the airship from the English coast across France and toward Switzerland, where Hartmann intends to rendezvous with revolutionary delegates. Throughout the voyage, the narrator grapples with the morality of his situation. He acknowledges the "magnificent" nature of Hartmann’s invention while simultaneously recoiling from the cold, destructive philosophy of his captors—men like the volatile Schwartz, who relish the prospect of raining fire and dynamite upon the cities of the world.

The tension culminates in a brutal strike against London. The Attila hovers over the city, and the crew begins a calculated campaign of devastation, dropping incendiary petroleum and explosives onto the Houses of Parliament and the city’s heart. Amidst this carnage, the narrator manages to escape the airship and navigate the burning, chaotic streets to find safety. The story follows the aftermath of the attack, describing a city plunged into horror and the subsequent rallying of the forces of order. As the state organizes a counter-offensive, the anarchists find themselves isolated and hunted.

The final movement of the book sees the Attila brought low, forced to descend into Hyde Park as the military and a vengeful public converge upon it. The "doom" promised by the title is reciprocal; the airship, once a symbol of absolute power, becomes a death trap for its crew. The narrative ends with the finality of the vessel’s destruction, closing the episode of Hartmann’s reign of terror and leaving the narrator to contemplate the wreckage of both a city and a radical dream.

How It Unfolds

The dark invitation The narrator receives cryptic hints from an acquaintance about a revolutionary plot that hinges on a secret invention. He reluctantly agrees to a secret meeting in Kensington Gardens to confront the infamous anarchist Hartmann.

Aboard the Attila After stumbling upon a police raid at a conspirator’s house, the narrator finds himself whisked away into the night sky. He discovers he is a passenger on an advanced airship that defies all known aeronautical constraints.

The grand tour The narrative shifts to the air, where the narrator observes the crew’s fanaticism and Hartmann’s detached, dictatorial control. He engages in philosophical debates with the captain, who views the destruction of modern civilization as a surgical necessity.

The strike on London The Attila returns to England to initiate a campaign of terror, raining petroleum and bombs on the capital. The narrator witnesses the devastation from the deck before finding a dangerous chance to flee.

The final stand The city rallies, and the anarchist movement faces a crushing military response. The airship is forced down in Hyde Park, leading to a climactic, violent confrontation between the trapped crew and the surging, angry masses.

The People

The narrator is a cautious intellectual, a socialist who fears the "tempest" of revolution as much as he abhors the current state of society. He is the reader's anchor, providing a voice of reason that is frequently overwhelmed by his fascination with the Attila.

Hartmann is the cold, brilliant architect of the catastrophe. He acts less like a political agitator and more like an absolute autocrat, motivated by a desire to "annihilate" a failed civilization. He is not portrayed as a common criminal, but as a man who believes he is the surgeon of the modern world, willing to cut away the "ulcer" of society.

Burnett serves as the bridge between the mundane world of political meetings and the terrifying reality of the Attila. He is fiercely loyal to the cause, ultimately meeting a violent end that triggers the crew’s descent into madness.

Schwartz is the dark mirror of the movement, a man who finds genuine, sadistic joy in the act of destruction. He represents the "inferno" of anarchy, acting as the foil to the narrator's tempered, albeit conflicted, perspective. Together, they form a crew of disparate, dangerous men drawn to the Attila not for a coherent political vision, but for the thrill of ultimate power.

In Its Own Voice

“Suppose, for instance, that the leaders of these few thousands came to possess some novel invention—something that—that made them virtual dictators to their kind.”

Burnett explains to the narrator how a small group could realistically challenge the authority of a modern state.

“The dynamite falls on castle walls / And splendid buildings old in story. / The column shakes, the tyrant quakes, / And the wild wreckage leaps in glory.”

Schwartz recites a brutal, distorted version of Tennyson to express his delight in the destruction caused by the airship.

“The test of the worth of a civilization is its power to minister to human happiness. Judged by this standard your civilization has proved a failure.”

Hartmann justifies his campaign of mass destruction by arguing that the existing social order has fundamentally failed its people.

What It's Really About

At its core, the book examines the terrifying intersection of individual genius and mass destruction. It reflects the Victorian-era fear that scientific progress would not necessarily lead to human enlightenment, but rather provide unstable, radical individuals with the tools to collapse established society overnight. The "doom" of the city is not just a physical threat from an airship, but a philosophical one: the question of whether a society that has lost its internal cohesion can ever survive the weaponization of its own technological advancements. Hartmann serves as a personification of the "misused genius," a figure who chooses to burn the world down rather than reform it, leaving the reader to contemplate the fragility of order in an age of rapid invention.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of science fiction will find this book a remarkable specimen of "future-war" literature. It captures the specific, heightened anxieties of the 1890s—a time when the promise of the airship felt like both a utopia and an existential threat. The prose is earnest and dramatic, leaning into the period's love for descriptive, high-stakes narratives.

However, modern readers should be prepared for the limitations of its time. The characterizations are often archetypal rather than deeply psychological, and the political discussions, while earnest, are rooted in the specific anxieties of late-19th-century European anarchism. The narrator’s voice occasionally lapses into the moralizing tone characteristic of his era, and the pacing follows the conventions of Victorian serialized fiction, which may feel dense to those accustomed to modern, streamlined thrillers. Despite these challenges, the book remains a gripping, atmospheric read. The descriptions of the Attila gliding through the clouds are genuinely evocative, and the portrait of a society in the grip of a new, high-tech terror feels eerily familiar to anyone observing the rapid, often unpredictable pace of technological change today. It is a haunting, thoughtful, and occasionally brutal look at what happens when the machines we build become the masters of our fate.