The island of anarchy: A fragment of history in the 20th century

In Short

Set in a future twentieth century after a young British government banishes all law-deniers and anarchists, the novel follows these exiles to Meliora, a volcanic island re-arisen in the South Pacific. Initially fractured by violent factions, the outlaws slowly turn toward a community of mutual aid and Christian anarchy guided by a repentant Russian Prince and a devoted Sister. Though they achieve a fleeting, laws paradise rooted entirely in love rather than legislation, a sudden volcanic eruption destroys the island, leaving the Prince as the sole survivor.

The Story

The narrative opens near the end of the nineteenth century amid widespread social disorder, prompting a young British government to institute sweeping, unsparing reforms and banish all anarchists and socialists to overseas exile. Through an international pact, these outlaws are eventually transported to Meliora, a coral-ringed island that has newly risen from the sea. The early settlement takes root under the guidance of an elderly scholar, young Anglican priests who champion early Christian communism, and a handful of earnest idealists. However, the arrival of more violent political elements—including radical socialists, Irish revolutionaries, and Russian Nihilists—brings deep friction and hostility toward the peaceful Western settlement.

Tensions boil over when the Southern settlers begin cutting down the sacred coco-bearing reef to build ships for raiding neighboring islands. Despite peaceful appeals from the West, a mob storms the settlement on a Sunday morning and sets fire to the church, martyring the young priests and the old scholar in the flames. Chaos and unchecked violence consume the island until a ship of brutal Dacoits arrives in the north, plunging the survivors into a shared terror that forces them toward unity. Just as destruction seems certain, an approaching enemy ship mysteriously runs aground on a sunken reef, saving the community through what many perceive as a direct answer to prayer.

This miraculous deliverance sparks a widespread conversion among the settlers, led by an anonymous Sister and a transformed Russian Prince who abandons his former nihilism. Embracing a "Christian Anarchy," the community discards all external laws, written creeds, and formal governance, choosing instead to live entirely by love and devotion to a living Lord. The remaining Dacoits are peacefully banished to a neighboring island, and Meliora enters a golden age of unforced cooperation and spiritual communion. This peace is abruptly shattered when a massive volcanic eruption triggers a seismic wave that submerges the entire island plain and its crater. The Prince, who was sitting by the Sister's grave on the mountain, survives the cataclysm alone, living for years on forest fruits until he is rescued by a passing ship and records his testimony before dying at sea.

How It Unfolds

The century turns England undergoes a drastic political upheaval when a young House of Commons seizes power and institutes strict measures, eventually exiling thousands of unyielding anarchists and agitators to the newly re-arisen island of Meliora.

The island takes shape Exiles from across Europe arrive at the fertile, beautiful shores, where a peaceful Western faction of idealists, scholars, and devoted clergy attempts to organize a harmonious, cooperative community.

Faction and fire Aggressive new arrivals, including violent socialists and Irish radicals, reject peaceful coexistence and ultimately attack the Western settlement, burning the church and killing its leaders.

The miraculous deliverance Facing a terrifying new invasion of ruthless Dacoits, the remaining settlers unite in prayer, and an enemy warship mysteriously strands itself on a hidden reef, saving the island from slaughter.

The rise of Christian Anarchy Led by a converted Russian Prince and a compassionate Sister, the community adopts a stateless society governed solely by mutual love, faith, and the absence of written laws.

The final cataclysm A sudden, violent volcanic eruption and tidal wave engulf the entire island, wiping out the settlement and leaving the Prince as the sole survivor to recount the tragic history.

The People

The Scholar, an elderly exile worn by desolate wanderings, desires to see his poetic and humanitarian ideals fulfilled, anchoring the early settlement with counsel and organizing its first homes before dying nobly on the church steps.

The Sister, a selfless woman who remains behind to nurse the sick during a fever outbreak, uses her gentle presence and powerful faith to guide the community through its darkest hours, eventually being buried high upon the mountain after her death.

The Russian Prince arrives full of fiery nihilistic zeal and contempt for religion, but after witnessing the destructive reality of lawlessness and the quiet devotion of the clergy, he undergoes a profound spiritual transformation to champion a stateless society rooted in Christian love.

In Its Own Voice

The ending of the nineteenth century, like that of the eighteenth, was a time of terrible and strange things, as if it were coming to be the law of human affairs that the sunsets of the centuries should be red with a “Terror” and dark with despair.

The narrator reflects on the recurring cycle of revolutionary violence that marks the close of modern centuries.

A land large enough for all, fertile as a garden of romance, perfect in climate, and abounding in all they could need for food, clothing and shelter, what more could the outlaws desire?

The text describes the idyllic, abundant natural paradise that greets the banished exiles upon their arrival at Meliora.

All joined with one voice, and only as the flames wrapped round and choked them the sound of their singing died away—no groan, no cry for help, no struggle to escape, but just one solemn, triumphant martyr song, and all was still.

The narrator portrays the serene and unwavering final moments of the young priests and believers trapped inside the burning church.

What It's Really About

The book interrogates the fundamental nature of order, authority, and human nature. It argues that external civil laws and political revolutions ultimately fail because they do not address the moral condition of the individual soul. By contrasting violent state repression with absolute political anarchy, the narrative explores whether human beings can live harmoniously without external coercion. It proposes that true social order cannot be achieved through political structures or brute force, but only through a voluntary, inward transformation rooted in selfless love and spiritual grace. Ultimately, it questions the durability of earthly utopias, suggesting that both human malice and natural forces constantly threaten to wash away civilization's highest aspirations.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in late-nineteenth-century utopian and dystopian thought, political philosophy, and speculative historical fiction will find this a fascinating curio. Reading it feels like uncovering a forgotten theological debate conducted through the medium of adventurous science fiction, blending Victorian moral earnestness with sweeping geopolitical forecasts. Modern readers should be prepared for late-nineteenth-century prose styles, pervasive religious themes, and period-specific attitudes toward political radicalism and social order. Yet, despite its heavy didacticism and obscure publication history, the book lingers in the mind through its striking central image of a fragile, beautiful society attempting to reinvent human community from the ground up, only to be reclaimed by the indifferent power of the earth itself.