A Second Coming

"A Second Coming" by Richard Marsh is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story explores a thought-provoking scenario in which a character named Hugh Chisholm claims to have witnessed the Second Coming of Christ in modern-day London. Through its discussions, the book delves into themes of faith, doubt, and societal norms as it questions how a contemporary world would react to such a miraculous event. The opening of the novel captures a dinner party atmosphere where Chisholm makes a startling entrance, announcing that Christ has returned. The guests are initially bewildered, treating Chisholm's insistence with skepticism. However, he recounts a dramatic encounter in which he saw Christ revive a deceased man after a cycling accident. Chisholm’s passionate claim rattles the party, leading to mixed reactions ranging from curiosity to disbelief. This sets the tone for the rest of the narrative, focusing on how individuals grapple with the intersection of the miraculous and the mundane, and how society reacts to challenges of faith and truth. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Richard Marsh was the pseudonym of the English author born Richard Bernard Heldmann. A best-selling and prolific author of the late 19th century and the Edwardian period, Marsh is best known now for his supernatural thriller novel The Beetle, which was published the same year as Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), and was initially even more popular, outselling Dracula six times over. The Beetle remained in print until 1960. Marsh produced nearly 80 volumes of fiction and numerous short stories, in genres including horror, crime, romance and humour. Many of these have been republished recently, beginning with The Beetle in 2004. Marsh's grandson Robert Aickman was a notable writer of short "strange stories".