It was first published in Pearson's Weekly and was prompted by the success of "The Great War of 1892" in Black and White magazine, which was itself inspired by The Battle of Dorking.
Led by a crippled, brilliant Russian Jew and his daughter, the 'angel' Natasha, 'The Brotherhood of Freedom' establish a 'pax aeronautica' over the earth after a young inventor masters the technology of flight in 1903.
The stranger introduced himself as Maurice Colston, and the two men soon realized they shared a distaste for autocracy and the status quo, feeling "at war with Society".
With Colston's assistance, Arnold met other heads of the "Brotherhood of Freedom", a revolutionary organization of anarchists, nihilists, and socialists bent on ending the society of oppression and misery.
On their flight towards the designated town in Russia where they would attempt to rescue Natasha, the "Terrorists" - as everyone called the members of this secret order - decided to show the world the air-ship's destructive power.
News of the mysterious air vessel and its power travelled all over the Western world, causing fear and panic in the ranks of both common people and the upper classes.
Meanwhile, after forty years of peace, European powers were readying for the inevitable final clash: plans were being laid down, treaties made and tested, armies equipped and mobilized.
As war drew closer to British shores, with Germany falling completely under the power of the Russian tsar, the Terrorists had more important work to finish.
By the will of Natas, Roburoff was shot dead by Natasha when he received her in his house in America, and the American section gained a new leadership, ready for the revolution.
Much to their surprise, with the aid of war-balloons, the Franco-Slavonian League cut all oversea trade to and from Britain, and arranged a successful landing of troops on British soil, aiming to take London.
With air-ships and the power of millions of people under their Federation's banner, the Terrorists easily convinced the European leaders that the only way to stop destruction was to make wars impossible to fight.
Removing all unjust and confusing national laws, and confiscating for the state all land that was not directly used for production, the Federation achieved order for the common people, with no fear of future wars.
[4]: 186 [2]: 104 He got a job at the newly-founded Pearson's Weekly, initially tasked by editor Peter Keary with writing addresses on envelopes for the magazine's competitions.
[4]: 186 He made a good impression on Keary through his skill as a conversationalist, largely owing to his background travelling the world, and was soon promoted to columnist.
[4]: 214 [5]: 20 The success of The Angel of the Revolution quickly led to the announcement of a sequel, The Syren of the Skies, in the 23 December 1893 issue of Pearson's Weekly.
The Czar ends down the silver mines, but less tyrannical monarchs sit safe and sound on their thrones, while the superiority of Britain is affirmed.
[3]: 303/398 It is characterised by what Michael Moorcock called its "controlled imaginative flight, its essentially socialist message, [and] a strong dose [of] romanticism".