Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson

Essentially the novel imagines a socialist and humanist world where religion has been either suppressed or ignored. People have no history or hope so they often turn to euthanasia, which is legal. Further there is a "one-world" government that uses Esperanto for its language and ultimately becomes a servant of the anti-Christ. In brief: The Catholic Church has been suppressed by the rest of the world, which has turned to a form of "self religion". Pope John XXIV has made an agreement with the Italian government: the Catholic Church can have all of Rome, while all other churches in Italy are surrendered to the government. Ireland still remains staunchly Catholic, with small enclaves all over the world. Westminster Cathedral is the only church in London that is still Catholic. The rest have become Freemasonic temples. The plot then follows the tale of a priest, Percy Franklin, who becomes Pope Silvester III, and an unknown man named Julian Felsenburgh (who is identical in looks to the priest) who becomes "Lord of the World".

The fictional world described in this novel (written prior to the First World War) predicts certain innovations such as interstate highways (trunk, main junction) and air travel using "volors", an advanced form of Zeppelin or Ornithopter. It also assumes the continuation of the British Empire and predominant travel by train.