1
of
1
The Man Who Was Thursday
A Nightmare
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 45,155 ratings, 4,879 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1900
$2100
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Man Who Was Thursday
$1900
$2100
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
Toys and Books for Pretend Play (Part 1)
From Hape to Melissa & Doug to Bluey, and a whole bunch more, there are...
New Reads to add to your TBR
Fiction and Non Fiction are both pulling some big punches this week with a number...
Talking all things Romantasy with John Campbell on RNZ!
The latest book in a viral series has had some New Zealanders queuing up at...
New Hero Alert! Meet Shannon - our new Warehouse Sidekick
Meet Shannon, one of our newest Warehouse Sidekicks! With a background in inwards goods and...
New Zealand Gothic and Some Wonderfully Atmospheric Novels from Aotearoa
We may be lacking in castles and moors, but we more than make up for...
See moreThe Central Anarchist Council is a secret society sworn to destroy the world. The council is governed by seven men, who hide their identities behind the names of the days of the week. But when he discovers another undercover policeman on the Council, Syme begins to question his role in their operations.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
The Man Who Was Thursday is G. K. Chesterton's surreal masterpiece, edited and with an introduction by Matthew Beaumont.
Can you trust yourself when you don't know who you are?
In a park in London, secret policeman Gabriel Syme strikes up a conversation with an anarchist. Sworn to do his duty, Syme uses his new acquaintance to go undercover in Europe's Central Anarchist Council and infiltrate their deadly mission, even managing to have himself voted to the position of 'Thursday'.
When Syme discovers another undercover policeman on the Council, however, he starts to question his role in their operations. And as a desperate chase across Europe begins, his confusion grows, as well as his confidence in his ability to outwit his enemies.
But he has still to face the greatest terror that the Council hasβa man named Sunday, whose true nature is worse than Syme could ever have imagined...
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton is often praised for its exploration of existential themes, blending a thrilling mystery with philosophical depth. C. S. Lewis highlights its powerful depiction of personal struggle against the vast complexities of the universe, leaving readers contemplating the lonely and bewildering aspects of individual challenges.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780141191461
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 31 March 2011
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Contributors:
- Introduction by Matthew Beaumont
- Edited by Matthew Beaumont
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 12.0mm
Width: 127.0mm
Height: 197.0mm
Weight: 168g
Pages: 224
About the Author
G.K. Chesteron was born in 1874. He attended the Slade School of Art, where he appears to have suffered a nervous breakdown, before turning his hand to journalism. A prolific writer throughout his life, his best-known books include The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1922) and the Father Brown stories. Chesterton converted to Roman Catholicism in 1922 and died in 1938. Matthew Beaumont is Senior Lecturer in English at University College London. His most recent book is Utopia Ltd.- Ideologies of Social Dreaming in England, 1870-1900 (2009).
Also by G K Chesterton
View all-
The Man Who Was Thursday: Green Popular Penguins
G.K. Chesterton's 1908 masterpiece, The Man Who Was Thursday, is a metaphysical thriller and a detective story filled with poetry and politics. Gabriel Syme is a poet and a police detective. Lucian Gregory is a poet and a bomb-throwing anarchist. Syme infiltrates a secret meeting of anarchists and becomes 'Thursday', one of the seven members of the Central Anarchist Council....Paperback$1400Elsewhere:$1599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
19% off
The Innocence of Father Brown: Green Popular Penguins
The Innocence of Father Brown is the first collection of stories starring Father Brown, a short, stumpy Catholic priest with shapeless clothes and a large umbrella, and uncanny insight into human evil. Father Brown may be a kindly cleric, but his bumbling nature disguises a sharp detective mind to rival Sherlock Holmes. He uses his experiences as a priest and...Paperback$1700Usually:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Father Brown Selected Stories
A new selection of the much-loved Father Brown stories, now part of the Penguin English Library. 'No man's really any good till he knows how bad he is, or might be' Shabby and lumbering, with a face like a Norfolk dumpling, Father Brown makes for an improbable super-sleuth. But his innocence is the secret of his success β refusing the...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Napoleon of Notting Hill
The Napoleon of Notting Hill is G. K. Chesterton's wild and whimsical debut novel, set in a future embattled London. London, 1984. Democracy has given up the ghost. England's ruler is randomly selected, and this year it's Auberon Quin, a clerk with an odd sense of humour. Quin mandates that each borough of London become an independent neo-medievalist state, complete...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips late December -
The Complete Father Brown Stories
The adventures of the well-loved clerical sleuth, collected in a single volume and introduced by Michael D. Hurley. Shabby and lumbering, with a face like a Norfolk dumpling, Father Brown makes for an improbable super-sleuth. But his innocence is the secret of his successβrefusing the scientific method of detection, he adopts instead an approach of simple sympathy, interpreting each crime...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3200Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Man Who Was Thursday
Chesterton's masterpiece is a surreal, psychologically thrilling novel centring on seven anarchists in turn of the century London who call themselves by the names of the days of the week. The Man Who Was Thursday is an enigmatic tale that blurs the lines between reality and illusion, drawing the reader into a world of unpredictable twists and philosophical exploration. Introduction...Paperback$3700Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Puzzles of the Parish
I think that it is desirable to discuss the affair β here, in the room in which the Bishopβs body was found. A pernicious parson outwits the thieves of a priceless chalice from the parish treasury. A beloved vicar contemplates a perfect crime when a blackmailer comes knocking. Poisoned pen letters lead to a fall from grace for a rectorβs...Paperback$2999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Wisdom of Father Brown
From London to Cornwall, then to Italy and France, a short, shabby priest runs to earth bandits, traitors, killers. Why is he so successful? The reason is that after years spent in the priesthood, Father Brown knows human nature and is not afraid of its dark side. Thus, he understands criminal motivation and how to deal with it. The stories...PaperbackSold Out -
The Man Who Was Thursday
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1908. The book has been referred to as a metaphysical thriller. Although it deals with anarchists, the novel is not an exploration or rebuttal of anarchist thought; Chesterton's ad hoc construction of "Philosophical Anarchism" is distinguished from ordinary anarchism and is referred to...PaperbackSold Out -
Bread and Wine
Though Easter (like Christmas) is often trivialised by the culture at large, it is still the high point of the religious calendar for millions of people around the world. And for most of them, there can be no Easter without Lent, the season that leads up to it. A time for self-denial, soul-searching, and spiritual preparation, Lent is traditionally observed...HardbackSold Out -
The Everyman Chesterton
The time for a revival of interest in the work of G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), a towering figure in the literary world of the early twentieth century, is long overdue. Novelist, journalist, short-story writer, essayist, biographer, critic, poet, and Catholic apologist, his was a many-faceted talent, as this generous selection made for Everyman by his biographer Ian Ker bears witness....HardbackSold Out
More from General Fiction
View all-
Yesteryear
A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE β Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE β Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE β Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS β Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale β Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromβ¦His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance β...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
17% offThe Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2000Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseA Court of Splintered Harmony
Romance, danger, and intrigue await you in the breathtaking sixth book in the #1 bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) series.What was broken will be remade.Deep in the heart of the continent, Koschei the Deathless is stirring. Though he's been bound to a mountain lake for millennia, the insidious threat of his return now spreads across the Fae territories,...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThreshing Day
The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing DayΒ contains thirteen stories starring your favorite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-color illustrations by artist Joe Requeza.Β Β Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over twenty novels, including Fourth Wing and In the...Hardback$6999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Assassinβs Apprentice
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb marks the beginning of an extraordinary adventure in the rich and immersive world of the Six Duchies. Set against the backdrop of a kingdom teetering on the brink of civil war, this gripping tale introduces readers to FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal bastard whose existence threatens the stability of the crown. When the crown prince's secret...Paperback$1900Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A Court of Thorns and Roses Paperback Box Set (5 books)
All five of the Court of Thorns and Roses paperbacks packaged together in a gorgeous box set. "Passionate, violent, sexy and daring." βUSA TODAY on A Court of Thorns and Roses Feyre is a huntress. The skin of a wolf would bring enough gold to feed her sisters for a month. But the life of a magical creature comes at...Set$9999Elsewhere:$12495Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThreshing Day
The next book in the blockbuster Empyrean series, Threshing Day, contains thirteen stories starring your favourite characters and their dragons. The deluxe first edition includes sixteen beautiful original full-colour illustrations by artist Joe Requeza and silver-gilded edges. *while stock lasts. Discover the beloved world of the record-breaking, multi-million-copy bestselling series where power always demands a price, secrets darken every hallway,...Hardback$4999Elsewhere:$5500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseChain Reaction
Jack Reacher, \"the coolest continuing series character\" (Stephen King), returns in a brand new, pulse-pounding read from Lee and Andrew Child. The worldβs bestselling hero is back in a brand new, high-octane adventure! βShe knew that finding Reacher would not be easy . . .β Washington DC. General Susan Turner needs help from the only guy she knows will get...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Things We Never Say
Internationally bestselling and prize-winning author Elizabeth Strout's new novel tells the story of a chance incident in a man's lifeβa poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, and free will in a capsizing world. Artie Dam is a man with a secret. He spends his days teaching history to high schoolers, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a...Hardback$3200Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A Court of Mist and Fury
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas continues Feyre Archeron's epic journey in the world of the High Fae. Having survived the brutal trials under the Mountain, Feyre returns to the Spring Court. Though she now possesses the immortal powers of the High Fae, the traumatic experiences have left scars on her human heart. Haunted by the...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
A Court of Wings and Ruin
The third instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON, romantic fantasy epic and TikTok sensation, ACOTAR. From multi-million and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. In A Court of Wings and Ruin, the gripping third book of the ACOTAR series, Feyre Archeron faces the ultimate battle for her world. Having returned to the Spring Court, she is determined to gather...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Fiction about Fathers
Here are some incredible stories that explore various angles of fatherhood and father figures in the most poignant and wonderful ways. Featuring...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
What to read now you've watched The Odyssey
Contemporary fiction, classical non-fiction, feminist retellings, and inspired stories that would make for an interesting read now that you're obsessed with The...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Kevin's listGeneral Fiction
The Odyssey & Trojan War Classics (and Retellings)
Long before Christopher Nolan turned it into a blockbuster in the summer of 2026, The Odyssey was the original epic. After a...View the list -
![Tsubaki Stationery Store]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Have You Tried ... Healing Fiction
Healing Fiction is a relatively new genre still finding it's place, and yet people are reaching for it without realizing, desperate for...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Favourite Picks for Winter Reading
These are the books that Lizzy loves to read in Winter, or that feel like Winter. A combination of fiction, some non-fiction,...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readersβ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Seasonal Reads - 10 Books for Autumn
If you haven't tried seasonal reading, Lizzy thinks you should. It's a way to romanticizing the current season rather than trying to...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
General Fiction
The 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Winners
Celebrate all the winners of the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Explore the powerful fiction of Ingrid Horrocks' 'All Her Lives',...View the list
