On Reading Chesterton

On reading Gilbert Keith Chesterton's work

As some of you might know, I am reading the classics these days. I picked a three-volume series called 50 books you must read before you die and started with volume three.

I recently finished reading the Gilbert Keith Chesterton selections. Specifically, I read the following four items.


The Wisdom of Father Brown [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
- Heretics [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
- The Donnington Affair [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]
- The Innocence of Father Brown [Gilbert Keith Chesterton]

He was a towering figure in British intellectual life – a social conservative who became a Catholic. He was friends with George Bernard Shaw and HG Wells and engaged in spirited debates with both of them during his life. He was described as a big man who was very absent-minded, leaving his wife to take care of most mundane things. I can relate to that

Reading these selections, particularly the three Father Brown selections from the viewpoint of the early 21st century, present some challenges. Like most writers of his era -late 19th century -mid 20th century, his writing sounds very colonist, elitist, racist, and sexist. Of course, a writer in that era would simply not recognize the colonist, elastic, racist, and sexist aspects of his work, nor would he particularly care.

So I noted that and moved on. Father Brown is an interesting fictional detective. He reminds me a bit of Hercules Perot of Agatha Christie fame, or perhaps a bit of Sherlock Holmes as well. Father Brown is a Catholic priest in England who develops a reputation as an amateur detective as he solves cases through his superior analytical ability, as well as his thinking outside the box to use a more modern idiom. He travels around England, and France often with his friend, Flambeau who is a French detective whom Father Brown convinces to turn away from a life of crime and go straight.

Each of the stories is both a stand-alone story and fits a larger narrative as the characters evolve through time.

I suppose my favorites were

"The Wrong Shape", The Saturday Evening Post, 10 December 1910.
"The Sins of Prince Sardine", The Saturday Evening Post, 22 April 1911.
The Hammer of God (as "The Bolt from the Blue", The Saturday Evening Post, 5 November 1910.
"The Eye of Apollo", The Saturday Evening Post, 25 February 1911.
"The Sign of the Broken Sword", The Saturday Evening Post, 7 January 1911.

My least favorite was

"The God of the Gongs" – because the racism in this story is just too much to deal with. The main murderer is a half-African from somewhere in the US who is a fighter but is accused of being a member of a voodoo cult. They used the N-word throughout to describe him and his cult members.

The complete list follows:


. The Innocence of Father Brown, 1911
"The Blue Cross", The Story-Teller, September 1910; first published as "Valentin Follows a Curious Trail", The Saturday Evening Post, 23 July 1910
"The Secret Garden", The Story-Teller, October 1910. (The Saturday Evening Post, Sep 3, 1910)
"The Queer Feet", The Story-Teller, November 1910. (The Saturday Evening Post, Oct 1, 1910)
"The Flying Stars", The Saturday Evening Post, 20 May 1911.
"The Invisible Man", The Saturday Evening Post, 28 January 1911. (Cassell's Magazine, Feb 1911)
The Honour of Israel Gow (as "The Strange Justice", The Saturday Evening Post, 25 March 1911.
"The Wrong Shape", The Saturday Evening Post, 10 December 1910.
"The Sins of Prince Saradine", The Saturday Evening Post, 22 April 1911.
The Hammer of God (as "The Bolt from the Blue", The Saturday Evening Post, 5 November 1910.
"The Eye of Apollo", The Saturday Evening Post, 25 February 1911.
"The Sign of the Broken Sword", The Saturday Evening Post, 7 January 1911.
"The Three Tools of Death", The Saturday Evening Post, 24 June 1911.
2. The Wisdom of Father Brown (1914)
"The Absence of Mr. Glass", McClure's Magazine, November 1912.
"The Paradise of Thieves", McClure's Magazine, March 1913.
"The Duel of Dr. Hirsch"
"The Man in the Passage", McClure's Magazine, April 1913.
"The Mistake of the Machine"
"The Head of Caesar", The Pall Mall Magazine, June 1913.
"The Purple Wig", The Pall Mall Magazine, May 1913.
"The Perishing of the Pendragons", The Pall Mall Magazine, June 1914.
"The God of the Gongs"
"The Salad of Colonel Cray"
"The Strange Crime of John Boulnois", McClure's Magazine, February 1913.
"The Fairy Tale of Father Brown"

The Incredulity of Father Brown (1926)
"The Resurrection of Father Brown"
"The Arrow of Heaven" (Nash's Pall Mall Magazine, Jul 1925)
"The Oracle of the Dog" (Nash's [PMM], Dec 1923)
"The Miracle of Moon Crescent" (Nash's [PMM], May 1924)
"The Curse of the Golden Cross" (Nash's [PMM], May 1925)
"The Dagger with Wings" (Nash's [PMM], Feb 1924)
"The Doom of the Darnaways" (Nash's [PMM], Jun 1925)
"The Ghost of Gideon Wise" (Cassell's Magazine, Apr 1926)
4. The Secret of Father Brown (1927)
"The Secret of Father Brown" (framing story)
"The Mirror of the Magistrate"
"The Man with Two Beards"
"The Song of the Flying Fish"
"The Actor and the Alibi"
"The Vanishing of Vaudrey" (Harper's Magazine, Oct 1925)
"The Worst Crime in the World"
"The Red Moon of Meru"
"The Chief Mourner of Marne" (Harper's Magazine, May 1925)
"The Secret of Flambeau" (framing story)
5. The Scandal of Father Brown (1935)
"The Scandal of Father Brown", The Story-Teller, November 1933
"The Quick One", The Saturday Evening Post, 25 November 1933
"The Blast of the Book/The Five Fugitives" (Liberty Aug 26, 1933)
"The Green Man" (Ladies Home Journal, November 1930)
"The Pursuit of Mr. Blue"
"The Crime of the Communist" (Collier's Weekly, Jul 14, 1934)
"The Point of a Pin" (The Saturday Evening Post, Sep 17, 1932)
"The Insoluble Problem" (The Story-Teller, Mar 1935)
"The Vampire of the Village" (Strand Magazine, August 1936); included in later editions of The Scandal of Father Brown
6. Uncollected Stories (1914, 1936)
"The Donnington Affair" (The Premier, November 1914; written with Max Pemberton)
"The Mask of Midas" (1936)

Wiki Summation

Gilbert Keith Chesterton KC*SG (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer,[2] philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox".[3] Time magazine observed his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out."[4]
Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brown,[5] and wrote on apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognized the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.[4][6] Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism from high church Anglicanism. Biographers have identified him as a successor to such Victorian authors as Matthew Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, John Henry Newman, and John Ruskin.[7]

For more information see the following sites

en.wikipedia.org › wiki › GG. K. Chesterton - Wikipedia
A. K. Chesterton (2nd cousin) Signature. Gilbert Keith Chesterton KC*SG (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer, [2] philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox ". [3]
Alma mater: Slade School of Art, University College London
Genre: Essays, fantasy, Christian apologetics, Catholic apologetics, mystery, poetry
Education: St Paul's School
Spouse: Frances Blogg (m. 1901)
www.britannica.com › biography › G-K-ChestertonG.K. Chesterton | British author | Britannica
Jun 10, 2022, · G.K. Chesterton, in full Gilbert Keith Chesterton, (born May 29, 1874, London, England—died June 14, 1936, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire), English critic and author of verse, essays, novels, and short stories, known also for his exuberant personality and rotund figure.
www.thefamouspeople.com › profiles › gilbert-kGilbert K. Chesterton Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family ...
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, better known as G. K. Chesterton, was a prominent literary figure in 20th-century London. He was a highly versatile individual who was as respected as a writer as he was for being an orator and Christian apologist.
www.online-literature.com › chestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton - Biography and Works. Search Texts ...
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was a prolific English critic and author of verse, essays, novels, and short stories. He is probably best known for his series about the priest-detective Father Brown who appeared in 50 stories. Between 1900 and 1936 Chesterton published some one hundred books.
allpoetry.com › Gilbert-Keith-ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton - Poems by the Famous Poet - All Poetry
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London, England on the 29th of May, 1874. Though he considered himself a mere 'rollicking journalist,' he was a prolific and gifted writer in virtually every area of literature.