Village That Voted The Earth Was Flat

Possibly as relevant today as it ever was, this story tells the tale of an English village, Huckley, that is beguiled into voting the Earth was flat. How? And why? That is what this beguiling tale of Kipling's sets out to tell us; how the local Huckley squire, Sir Thomas Ingell, having lured two newspaper proprietors, a reporter and an MP into committing a speeding violation, has the tables turned on him by their making his village (and, thereby, him) an international laughing stock - with the help of Bat Masquerier, music hall proprietor, example of The Totally Amoral Soul and Personal Devil (to quote one of his co-conspirators). The dancing of the Gubby, the totally imaginary Huckley village dance, in the Houses of Parliament serves as a climax and a high spot of the tale. This story can be found in the Kipling collection "A Diversity of Creatures". ( Tony Addison)