The is the second volume of Chesterton's novels in this series of his Collected Works. (Volume VI is the other book of novels.) Besides his well-known philosophical-theological writings, Chesterton's fiction is very popular (Father Brown Mysteries, The Man Who Was Thursday, etc.) and among those who regarded him as a great literary figure are T.S. Eliot, Evelyn Waugh, C.S. Lewis and W.H. Auden. The reader will encounter characters in these novels that defend with great vigor the dignity of the person and fundamental Christian beliefs.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Where is the Chesterton of today?:
A hundred years ago in England, religion was under attack for being an obsolescence, an obstruction to the realization of human potential, the province of the unenlightened. Along came Chesterton, irrepressible optimist and genial adversary (foes GB Shaw and HG Wells were counted among his many friends) who masterfully - some would say dizzyingly - used paradox to stand the arguments of the anti-religious on their heads. This particular volume of GKC's invaluable work has much to recommend: 1) a... more info
Circle Talk at its Best:
This book is both dull and magnificent. Chesterton's writing style is brilliant even though often his writing is pointless. Like a trial lawyer engaged in circle talk he says a mouthful but at the same time, although eloquent, it is a mouthful of nothing. Much like a gorgeous flower it is best to view it than ingest it. So this book too is better lightly read than seriously studied.
Dickens's finest interpreter until after World War II:
Written in 1906 and 1911 and bound as this affordable paperback, Chesterton's two volumes of Dickens criticism remain superb, and have seldom been bettered by the academic industry's vast output. Although Chesterton's addiction to paradox can challenge or annoy readers unfamiliar with his style, a brief immersion dispels the difficulty, and further reading yields a mine of insights into Dickens as man and writer unsurpassed even by the publication of J. Hillis Miller's pathbreaking book of 1958. And:... more info
You can never go wrong with Chesterton:
You can never go wrong with Chesterton. Chesterton can help you think, even if you're not good at it.
