Nordenholt’s Million by J. J. Connington

The needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many

J. J. Connington was the pseudonym of a British chemist named Alfred Walter Stewart. Stewart wrote about two dozen detective novels under the name of Connington, as well as one science fiction novel. That sci-fi book, titled Nordenholt’s Million, was published in 1923.

In London, a laboratory-bred strain of bacteria is let loose from its petri dishes into the outside world, and it immediately begins to wreak havoc on the environment. This particular species of microbe is a denitrifying bacteria that breaks down the nitrogenous compounds in soil, thus depriving plant life of this essential nutrient. As the bacteria spreads by means of global human transportation, the soil around the world is devastated and plants die off at an alarming rate. The British government calls a meeting to discuss how to face the impending famine. The only attendee who has any idea how to tackle the problem is a billionaire industrialist named Nordenholt. He proposes that the only way to ensure the survival of the human race is to sequester a small portion of the population in an isolated location, provided with adequate food, while the rest of mankind dies of starvation. These select few million survivors, nicknamed Nordenholt’s Million, will devote their energies to manufacturing nitrogenous compounds to revitalize the dead soil so that humans may thrive once again and rebuild civilization. In order to execute this plan, Nordenholt declares himself dictator with absolute powers. He establishes his enclave in Scotland and selects his population of survivors. The novel is narrated by Jack Flint, an engineer, whom Nordenholt appoints as his right-hand man.

The apocalyptic idea that forms the basis of Nordenholt’s Million seems like a promising foundation for a science fiction novel. The way that idea is executed here, however, leaves a lot to be desired. The best scenes of the novel occur outside the Nordenholt compound, when Flint is describing the post-apocalyptic landscape of London—a violent, hopeless world reminiscent of the film Escape from New York, where people hunt each other down in packs like wild dogs and even resort to cannibalism. Only a few chapters, however, provide such dark glimpses of the end of the world.

Instead, far too much of the book is devoted to Nordenholt himself, whom Flint describes, discusses, and analyzes to excess. In doing so, he’s clearly holding Nordenholt up as Connington’s ideal of masculinity. Nordenholt is strong, decisive, pragmatic, rational, and ruthless, possessing supreme intelligence, fortitude, and stamina, etc. Although this novel came out a little late to be called Victorian, it feels like a throwback to that era. Readers of Connington’s time needed ideal heroes and moral lessons in order to justify and endure a work of science fiction, or so Connington seems to think. Today’s readers of science fiction, however, would rather read more about the ramifications of the disaster and the science behind a solution.

Although human-induced global warming was foreseen as early as 1800 by Alexander von Humboldt, Connington never even considers it here. In this novel, the destruction of the Amazon rain forest, and the rest of the world’s plants, has no effect on the atmosphere; Connington only mentions the ugliness of the barren landscape. If you habitually read fiction of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, however, you’re probably used to forgiving scientific inaccuracies and moralistic preachiness. Despite its antiquated faults, Nordenholt’s Million is not a terribly written novel for its time. It’s likely to adequately entertain those who appreciate “Radium Age” science fiction.