author
Pearson Choate
d. 1960
A little-known British writer of the early 20th century, he is remembered today for a curious satirical science-fiction novel, The King Who Went on Strike. His surviving work suggests a flair for political comedy and offbeat speculative ideas.
1 Audiobook
The King Who Went on Strike
by Pearson Choate
About the author
Pearson Choate was a British author, born around 1886 and died in 1960. He appears to have published stories in magazines before the First World War and also wrote the screenplay for Silas Q. Pinch, Sensationalist in 1914.
His best-known book is The King Who Went on Strike from 1924, a satirical speculative novel about a newly crowned king who disappears into everyday life while political anxieties build around him. Though not a widely famous name, he has remained of interest to science-fiction reference works and digital libraries because of that unusual novel.
Very little biographical detail seems to be firmly documented online, which adds to his air of mystery. What survives points to a writer with a sharp, playful interest in politics, society, and the possibilities of near-future fiction.