The Flying Inn

"The Flying Inn" by G. K. Chesterton is a novel that uses the return of Captain Patrick Dalroy, an Irish adventurer, to explore the conflicts of culture and tradition in a changing world. As Captain Dalroy navigates England, he runs into interesting people and complicated conversations about what society values, how we treat each other, and what people believe, all while inns are threatened by a new reformation led by Lord Ivywood, which wants to close them all down. The story begins at Pebblewick-on-Sea with a young woman intrigued by a peculiar old man in a red fez speaking about the unusual origins of English inns, setting a stage for a tale filled with satire, identity, and the upheaval of society as innkeeper Hump fights for the heartfelt "The Old Ship", his beloved inn.