England during an address before Parliament. Like its fictional counterpart, the Gunpowder Plot was exploited for propaganda and used to justify a campaign to completely and permanently destroy Catholicism. The scene in which President Julian Felsenburgh leads an enormous congregation in the worship of a mother goddess inside St. Paul's Cathedral is inspired by the worship of the Goddess of Reason inside Notre Dame Cathedral during the Reign of Terror. As acknowledged in the text, the character of Cardinal Dolgorovski of Moscow is inspired by Judas Iscariot.Benson (2011), pages 240–244. The word Test Act for Felsenburgh's legislative means to root out Catholicism is no invention of his or of his author, but there actually have been Test Acts in England. Current events Further inspiration was gleaned from Mgr. Benson's following of current events. The fear among Europeans of the Eastern Empire and its ruler, the Son of Heaven, is inspired by the shock that greeted the territorial expansion of the Japanese Empire before, during, and after the Russo-Japanese War. The dystopian Marxist Government of Britain is inspired by the events of the British general election of 1906. Prior to the election, a large number of small Marxist political parties consolidated to form a unified bloc called the Labour Party, which won 29 seats in the House of Commons. The first chapter, which describes the overthrow of the British royal family, the abolition of the House of Lords, the disestablishment of the Church of England, and the closing of the universities is inspired by the Labour Party's platform at the time the novel was written. The Marxist uprising that topples the Son of Heaven is inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1905, which Mgr. Benson was following in the newspapers. Julian Felsenburgh's sermon at St. Paul's and the emotional reaction of his listeners are inspired by press reports of the Reverend Evan Roberts and the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival. Rev. Roberts was similarly able to provoke public displays of emotion in his listeners and is regarded as the inventor of Pentecostalism. He was also the focus of a cult of personality which scandalized more traditional churches. At the height of his ministry, Rev. Roberts' denunciations of literary and cultural societies, competitive sports, and alcohol consumption temporarily caused a sea change in Welsh culture. Countless rugby teams and literary societies were voluntarily disbanded. In Welsh coal mining towns, pubs closed down for lack