Chesterton, G. K.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton grew up in London, and was baptized into the Church of England, although he described himself as an agnostic throughout his teen years. He embraced Anglicanism after his marriage, then converted to Catholicism in 1922.
Chesterton’s literary career began while working for publishing houses in London. He became a journalist, an art and literary critic, and the Daily News gave him a weekly opinion column in 1902. He went on to produce regular radio broadcasts, as well.
Among his early works, Chesterton’s “Father Brown” mysteries are undoubtedly his most successful and well known. In them, a bumbling yet thoughtful priest uncovers crime via his deep understanding of human nature. Another of his famous novels, “The Man Who Was Thursday,” turns our pompous ideologies on their head, promising a truth too powerful, mysterious, and even jovial for us to imagine.
He wore a crumpled hat and a cape, often walking about with a cigar in his mouth. He was an astoundingly prolific writer—crafting thousands of essays, hundreds of poems and short stories, and 80 books throughout his lifetime.
The Flying Inn
by G.K. Chesterton
The beloved G.K. Chesterton presents a well-crafted and joyous work of political fantasy about a small group of rebels who rail against the government’s attempt to impose prohibition in England.
Humphrey Pump, a pub owner, accompanied by Captain Patrick Dalroy, a flamboyant giant with a tendency to burst into song, take to the road in a donkey cart with a cask of good rum, a large block of cheese, and the signpost from his pub, The Flying Inn. The two men bring good cheer to an increasingly restless populace as they attempt to evade the law. In a journey that becomes a rollicking madcap adventure, the two travel round England, encountering revolution, romance, and a cast of memorable characters.
Paperback, 305 pages
by G. K. Chesterton
In the aptly titled treatise What's Wrong With the World, one of the twentieth century's most memorable and prolific writers takes on education, government, big business, feminism, and a host of other topics. A steadfast champion of the working man, family, and faith, Chesterton eloquently opposed materialism, snobbery, hypocrisy, and any adversary of freedom and simplicity in modern society.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 201 pages
With a Study of the Saint by G.K. Chesterton
by Henri Gheon
St. John Vianney, also known as the Cure of Ars, was a priest in France who became internationally notable (even without modern communications) for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish because of the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings. The devil tempted him by assuming the form of a person. That chapter in the book is so exciting it makes the entire book worth while! On 4 August 1859, St. Vianney died at age 73. The bishop presided over his funeral with 300 priests and more than 6,000 people in attendance! What a priest! May God send us more like him! Impr.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 217 pages
Short Biogaphies of Joyful Saints
complied by Frank J. Sheed
"The only tragedy is not to be a saint", wrote the French novelist Léon Bloy. And St. Francis de Sales said that "A sad saint would be a sorry saint." But what is a saint? One way to answer is to analyze sanctity, theologically and psychologically. Another way, which is the path Frank Sheed chose in creating this volume, is to show you a saint-or rather, since no two saints are alike-to show you a number of saints. In this book, you are shown forty saints.
The saints Sheed chose for this collection are from various time periods: six before A.D. 500, seventeen from then to the Reformation, and seventeen from the Reformation to the middle of the twentieth century. Many are well known, like St. Anthony, Francis, Augustine, Patrick and Bernadette, while others are lesser known, for example, Columcille and Malachy.
The same can be said for the various authors of these short biographies. Among them are the famous like Hilaire Belloc, Alban Goodier and G.K. Chesterton, as well as priests and laymen whose names may no longer be familiar but whose writing still brings to life men and women whose closeness to God gave them purpose, strength, and yes, joy.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", size 432 pages
by G.K. Chesterton
Here, together in a single volume, are the two biographies that many critics consider both Chesterton's best, and the best short portraits ever written of these two great saints. St. Francis of Assisi is a profoundly Catholic work, explaining and illuminating the life of St. Francis in a way no other biography has. The spiritual kinship the author felt with his subject enables the reader to delve into insights on the character of Francis that have eluded many.
St. Thomas Aquinas is enriched by the author's unique ability to see the world through the saint's eyes, a fresh and animated view that shows us Aquinas as no other biography has. Acclaimed as the best book ever written on Aquinas by such outstanding Thomists as Jacques Maritain, Etienne Gilson, and Anton Pegis, this brilliant biography will completely capture the reader and leave him desirous of reading Aquinas' own monumental work.
"No two lives are more interesting or diverse than St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas Aquinas. The St. Francis book is today especially significant because it addresses itself on how to reform a corrupt culture, while the St. Thomas book is important because it addresses the problem of disordered minds. Chesterton makes philosophy intelligible and poverty rich. No two books get at the heart of things better or in a more delightful manner."
Paperback, 320 pages
The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton
by G. K. Chesterton
G.K. Chesterton was a master essayist. But reading his essays is not just an exercise in studying a literary form at its finest, it is an encounter with timeless truths that jump off the page as fresh and powerful as the day they were written.
The only problem with Chesterton's essays is that there are too many of them. Over five thousand! For most GKC readers it is not even possible to know where to start or how to begin to approach them.
So three of the world's leading authorities on Chesterton - Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Aidan Mackey - have joined together to select the "best" Chesterton essays, a collection that will be appreciated by both the newcomer and the seasoned student of this great 20th century man of letters.
The variety of topics are astounding: barbarians, architects, mystics, ghosts, fireworks, rain, juries, gargoyles and much more. Plus a look at Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Austen, George MacDonald, T.S. Eliot, and the Bible. All in that inimitable, formidable but always quotable style of GKC. Even more astounding than the variety is the continuity of Chesterton's thought that ties everything together. A veritable feast for the mind and heart.
While some of the essays in this volume may be familiar, many of them are collected here for the first time, making their first appearance in over a century.
Softcover, 405 pages
by G.K. Chesterton
The Ballad of the White Horse is one of the last great epic poems in the English language. On the one hand it describes King Alfred’s battle against the Danes in 878. On the other hand it is a timeless allegory about the ongoing battle between Christianity and the forces of nihilistic heathenism. Filled with colorful characters, thrilling battles and mystical visions, it is as lively as it is profound.
Chesterton incorporates brilliant imagination, atmosphere, moral concern, chronological continuity, wisdom and fancy. He makes his stanzas reverberate with sound, and hurries his readers into the heart of the battle.
This deluxe volume is the definitive edition of the poem. It exactly reproduces the 1928 edition with Robert Austin’s beautiful woodcuts, and includes a thorough introduction and wonderful endnotes by Sister Bernadette Sheridan, from her 60 years researching the poem. Illustrated.
Paperback, size 8.5" x 5.5", 280 pages
More Stories from Chesterton
by G. K. Chesterton
adapted by Nancy Carpentier Brown
Sequel to the popular Father Brown Reader: Stories from Chesterton.
Includes adaptations for young readers of four of Chesterton's Father Brown murder mysteries:
- The Invisible Man,
- The Mirror of the Magistrate,
- The Eye of Apollo, and
- The Perishing Pendragons.
In these stories, the notorious criminal Flambeau has reformed and is now a great detective. He is often aided by his friend and confidant Father Brown.
Paperback, 174 pages
Stories from Chesterton
by G.K. Chesterton
adapted by Nancy Carpentier Brown
Young readers can now delight in Chesterton's wit and storytelling in these adaptations of 4 popular Father Brown stories:
- "The Blue Cross,"
- "The Strange Feet,"
- "The Flying Stars," and
- "The Absence of Mr. Glass."
In each story Chesterton includes a delightful twist and the clever sleuthing of Father Brown.
Paperback, 148 pages
Father Brown and the Ten Commandments
by G. K. Chesterton
This unique collection of Father Brown mysteries links tales by G.K. Chesterton with the Ten Commandments. The connection is often surprising, however, for the criminal is not necessarily the worst sinner in the story, nor is his crime necessarily the worst offense.
When Chesterton created the character of Father Brown, he brought a new dimension to mystery stories—the distinction between crime and sin. As the priest-detective applies his powers of observation to solve a case, he picks up clues about other offenses, such as those against the Sabbath or one's parents. Father Brown's main concern is not the laws of the State but the Commandments of God.
As Dorothy Sayers once wrote, G.K. Chesterton was "the first man of our time to introduce the great name of God into a detective story . . . to enlarge the boundaries of the detective story by making it deal with death and real wickedness and real, that is to say, divine judgment."
This edition includes footnotes not available in other versions, which help to clarify the literary and historical allusions made by Father Brown. It is based on the texts of Chesterton's original editions, for assurance of authenticity, and is set in easily readable type.
Paperback, 255 pages
by G. K. Chesterton
A unique collection of ten of Chesteron's famous Fr. Brown mysteries that emphasises the role of Brown's Catholic faith in helping solve the murders. Special deluxe edition of these excellent detective stories with footnotes and introduction by John Peterson.
Sewn softcover, 270pp,
by G. K. Cjesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton is one of the most celebrated and reverently esteemed figures in modern literature. He was a phenomenally prolific writer. After achieving early success as an illustrator, he subsequently established his fame as a playwright, novelist, poet, literary commentator, pamphleteer, essayist, lecturer, apologist, and editor. The depth and range of his work are astounding. A pagan at only 12 and totally agnostic by 16, Chesterton had the remarkable experience of developing a personal, positive philosophy that turned out to be orthodox Christianity. Orthodoxy, his account of it all, has not lost its force as a timeless argument for the simple plausibility of traditional Christianity. C.S. Lewis and many other emerging Christian thinkers have found this book a pivotal step in their adoption of a credible Christian faith. This intellectual and spiritual autobiography of the leading 20th century essayist combines simplicity with subtlety in a model apologetic that appeals to today\'s generations of readers who face the same materialism and antisupernaturalism as did the "man at war with his times." Of the numerous works that Chesterton wrote, the most scintillating synthesis of his philosophy and deeply religious faith was manifested in his masterpiece, Orthodoxy, written when he was only thirty-four and which tells, in his inimitable, soaring prose, of his earth-shaking discovery that orthodoxy is the only satisfactory answer to the perplexing riddle of the universe. Orthodoxy is perhaps the most outstanding example of the originality of his style and the brilliance of his thought.
Paperback, 168 pages
Manalive
by G. K. Chesterton
Introduction by Dale Ahlquist
This classic novel by the brilliant G. K. Chesterton tells the rollicking tale of Innocent Smith, a man who may be crazy-or possibly the most sane man of all. Arriving at a dreary London boarding house accompanied by a windstorm, Smith is an exuberant, eccentric and sweet-natured man. Smith has a positive effect on the house-he creates his own court, brings a few couples together, and falls in love with a paid companion next door. All seems to be well with the world.
Then the unexpected happens: Smith shoots at one of the tenants, and two doctors arrive to arrest him, claiming that he's a bigamist, an attempted murderer, and a thief. But cynical writer Moon insists that the case be tried there-and they explore Smith's past history, revealing startling truths about what he does. Is he the wickedest man in Britain, or is he "blameless as a buttercup"?
Beautifully written, mixing the ridiculous with the profound, full of hilarious dialogue and lushly detailed writing, Chesterton's main character Innocent Smith somehow manages to restore joy to all the dull and cynical lives around him. In this delightfully strange mystery, Chesterton demonstrates why life is worth living, and that sometimes we need a little madness just to know we are alive.
Paperback, 200 pages
by G.K. Chesterton
A collection of over two dozen of Chesterton's most readable essays on what Capitalism is, and how bad it is, in both precise and readable terms. He cuts to the core, and tears away polite illusions and pathetic excuses, demonstrating that modern Capitalism stands condemned not only by the Catholic Faith but by every sane view of the world. Not for the ideologically squeamish.
Softcover, 133 pages
by G. K. Chesterton
Chesterton explains that the medieval, European peasantry is the standard by which we should measure our progress in giving back to man the dignity proper to him as a human being and a creature of God.
The peasantry, for Chesterton, represents an ideal of sanity applicable to our own time. It possessed qualities which are needed more than ever today to repair our weakening social fabric: closeness to nature and to God; resourcefulness and independence; self-reliance, nobility, and dignity; consciousness of tradition and respect for it.
Softcover, 183 pages
by G.K. Chesterton
When two men decide to fight for their respective beliefs, they discover to their astonishment that an unbelieving world won’t let them, and they find themselves partners and fugitives from the law in this steampunk satire.
Penned by G.K. Chesterton in 1909, this whimsical and biting novel eerily foreshadows a world in which “tolerance” is the only god and all those who believe ideas are worth dying for are forced to stand together to defend freedom of speech and belief.
Paperback, 272 pages
by G. K. Chesterton
Father Brown first made his appearance in "The Innocence of Father Brown" in 1911.
This collection contains all of the Father Brown stories, showing thr quiet wit and compassion that has endeared him to many, whilst solving his mysteries by a mixture of imagination and a sympathetic worldliness in a totally believable manner.
Paperback, 411 pages
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