The Napoleon of Notting Hill · Chapter
Book III: The Mental Condition of Adam Wayne and The Remarkable Mr. Turnbull explained
This chapter explores Adam Wayne's peculiar psychology, where he perceives London's urban landscape as naturally poetic and sacred, viewing railings as spears and streets as ancient.
What happens
This chapter explores Adam Wayne's peculiar psychology, where he perceives London's urban landscape as naturally poetic and sacred, viewing railings as spears and streets as ancient. It details his attempts to recruit local shopkeepers for his patriotic defense of Notting Hill, using tact and flattery, though with mixed success. The chapter also introduces the Hammock School of critics and King Auberon Quin's literary review, contrasting different views of urban poetry. Wayne's interviews with a grocer, chemist, and curiosity shop owner reveal his fervent belief in an inevitable war to preserve local identity against modern indifference.
Themes in this chapter
The Poetry of the Everyday
Wayne's perception transforms mundane railings into spears and streets into sacred spaces, finding romance in urban details.
Patriotism and Local Loyalty
Wayne's fervent defense of Notting Hill as the heart of the universe, recruiting shopkeepers to preserve local identity against modern indifference.
The Absurdity vs. Seriousness of Life
The contrast between Wayne's deadly serious patriotism and the shopkeepers' mundane concerns, highlighting the absurdity of his mission.
Characters to notice
- Adam Wayne
Provost of Notting Hill, shown pacing Pump Street and recruiting shopkeepers; his mind transforms London's artificiality into a romantic, sacred landscape.
- Auberon Quin
King and literary critic, reviews 'Hymns on the Hill' under pseudonym 'Thunderbolt', praising urban poetry and criticizing 'Daisy Daydream'.
- Mr. Buck
Mentioned as a shopkeeper (grocer) who Wayne tries to recruit, appealing to his cosmopolitanism.
- Mr. Turnbull
The remarkable chemist who Wayne recruits, responding with enthusiasm to being called a 'world-old necromancer'.
- Daisy Daydream
Pseudonym of Auberon Quin, author of a volume of London lyrics criticized in the review.
Key passages
“A street is really more poetical than a meadow, because a street has a secret. A street is going somewhere, and a meadow nowhere.”
A street is more poetic than a meadow because it holds mystery and purpose, while a meadow is aimless.
Reflects Wayne's view of urban poetry and the hidden meaning in cityscapes.
“Something must break this strange indifference, this strange dreamy egoism, this strange loneliness of millions in a crowd. Something must break it. Why should it not be you and I?”
This modern apathy and isolation cannot last; we have the power to shatter it.
Wayne's rallying cry to the curiosity shop owner, urging action against modern quietude.