"The Ball and the Cross" by G. K. Chesterton is a novel published in 1909. The story follows a Catholic Jacobite and an atheist socialist who attempt to duel over their opposing views on religion. As these antagonists fight for their beliefs, they develop an unexpected partnership and friendship. Their real enemy becomes the world around them, which desperately tries to stop a duel over what it dismisses as "mere religion"—a subject both men consider supremely important. (This is an automatically generated summary.)