The Trees of Pride

by G.K. Chesterton

"We wish you'd get rid of what you've got here, sir," he observed, digging doggedly. "Nothing'll grow right with them here." "Shrubs!" said the Squire, laughing. "You don't call the peacock trees shrubs, do you? Fine tall trees -- you ought to be proud of them." "Ill weeds grow apace," observed the gardener. "Weeds can grow as houses when somebody plants them." Then he added: "Him that sowed tares in the Bible, Squire." "Oh, blast your --" began the Squire, and then replaced the more apt and alliterative word "Bible" by the general word "superstition." He was himself a robust rationalist, but he went to church to set his tenants an example. Of what, it would have puzzled him to say.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Audiobook, British Literature, Christian

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1922

About the author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic.

He was educated at St. Paul’s, and went to art school at University College London. In 1900, he was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism, and went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote a hundred books, contributions to 200 more, hundreds of poems, including the epic Ballad of the White Horse, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. In spite of his literary accomplishments, he considered himself primarily a journalist. He wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News, and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly.

Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism, history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology.

Reviews

[Argos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastik öğeler taşıyan bir dedektiflik romanı. Şair Yeats’ın ardından İrlanda’lı Chesterton okumam iyi bir tesadüf oldu, İrlanda’nın Kelt mirasını vurgulayan bir diğer kitap okumuş oldum. Aslında güncel yazarlara ara verip, daha eski örneğin 19. yy yazarlarını okumak gerekiyor bazen. Çok daha basit ama etkileyici yazıyorlar. Ne postmodern oyunları, bilinç akışı veya metinler arası göndermeler gibi yorucu enstrümanlar kullanıyorlar ne de kurmacada okuru koşuşturan denemelere girişiyorlar. Esinlendikleri şey neyse onu yazıyorlar. “Gurur Ağaçları” bu yazdıklarıma tipik bir örnek. Sürpriz sonuçlu polisiye okumak isteyenlere öneririm.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is at one and the same time one of Chesterton's paradoxical mysteries and one of his most pronounced moral landscapes. What I mean by this expression is that the author uses a strange, even eldritch landscape as suggesting a moral evil or imbalance that must be righted. He has used this technique to great effect in The Man Who Was Thursday as well as many of the Father Brown stories.

In this case, the moral landscape is dominated by some exotic trees brought from Africa to Cornwall by one of Squire Vane's ancestors, who died during the voyage. These trees are called peacock trees and soon become the target of local superstitions. Squire Vane angrily refuses to indulge the locals; and to set the issue at rest once and for all, he resolves to do what none of them would do, namely, go down among the trees at night.

This he does, but when he disappears, the mystery begins. Involved are Dr. Brown, the local physician; a local poet named Treherne; an American visitor named Cyprian Paynter; and the local attorney, named Ashe.

Chesterton expertly deceived me multiple times, an average of at least once per page! I think The Trees of Pride is one of his best mysteries. It requires a careful read to untwist out of all the wrongful suppositions one adopts.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. A fascinating mystery that ultimately leads to a crucial philosophical point. Chesterton's writing requires some effort to appreciate, but few people in history possessed a greater felicity with language than he did--and even fewer possessed a greater mental alacrity. You'd be hard-pressed to find another book that packs so much into four measly chapters.

[Leslie Moellering · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun whodunnit. An easy, enjoyable read.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.05 stars. This is a shorter, easy, thoughtful, and entertaining read from GKC.

My bookmarks:

“Oh, forgive me, Doctor, I know you do splendidly; but the fever comes in the village, and the people die and now it's my poor father. God help us all! The only thing left is to believe in God; for we can't help believing in devils."

"Squire, if there were a legend of hay fever, you would not believe in hay fever. If there were a popular story about pollen, you would say that pollen was only a popular story.”

[Orçun Güzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son zamanlarda çok fazla İrlanda/İngiltere yapımı "folk-horror" filmi izledim, bunların bir tanesi bu kitabın da konusu olan, İngiltere'nin en güney ucundaki Cornwall'da geçiyordu. Anladığım kadarıyla burada yaşayan Kornişler, kadim Kelt gelenekleriyle bağlantılarını sürdüren, egzantrik bir etnik grup. Chesterton, Londra doğumlu İngiliz bir yazar; yani önceki yorumculardan birinin dediği gibi İrlandalı değil; üstelik de Hıristiyanlık felsefesi yapacak kadar inançlı bir Katolik. Buna karşın, buranın halkını anlama çabası, yerli olan kültüre gösterdiği saygı, Kelt mirasını reddetmemesi bu kitapta belirgin olan ve takdir ettiğim tavırları. Sonuçta bir muhafazakâr ama çok özgün bir muhafazakâr.

Bu kısacık, sade ve akıcı roman; efsane motifleriyle, profesyonel olmayan dedektifleriyle, bilim-inanç çatışmasıyla ve birkaç sürpriziyle çok hoşuma gitti. Sonuçta efsane hem yanlışlandı hem de doğrulandı. Chesterton beni bir kez daha yanıltmadı; ona neden "paradokslar prensi" dendiğini daha iyi anladım.

[Morgan Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, another great mystery from Chesterton that has cozy entertaining vibes (I was tempted numerous times to pull out my knitting whilst reading . . . possibly should consider an audio book for my next Chesterton mystery) but still provides the audience with rich themes that gives us ideas to ponder and encourages us to reread, rather than writing a cheap one-and-done thriller commonly seen among mystery writers of his era such as Agatha Christie. The theme of believing in mysteries and when to draw the line at skepticism was interesting and very Chestertonian. I'll keep diving into this works again and again!

[Guillermo Maddalena · Rating 4 out of 5]

El poder de la superstición y su influencia es cómo creemos y no creemos en la realidad que nos rodea.

[Esherlocked · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yazarın okuduğum ilk kitabı, arka kapağını okumadan almıştım konusu hakkında herhangi bir bilgim yoktu. Kitabın ana konusu tavus kuşu ağaçlarının bölgedeki yerliler tarafından uğursuz kabul edilmesi ve bunu toprak ağası Vane'in kabul etmemesi olarak özetlenebilir. Batıl inançlar vs rasyonalizm diyebiliriz aslında bir de yazar polisiye öğeler de katmış olaya böylece okuyucunun merak duygusunu da kamçılıyor.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - good!

I really enjoyed this story, but it was kind of hard for me to get through. It was written in such a way that, if I had had to pick apart the story word by word, I wouldn't have understood it. But after reading a sentence and thinking it over, I'd realize I understood the gist of it. (Does that make sense?) It was rather distracting in the beginning. (This might have been because I started this book after midnight and before I had any refreshing sleep. Once I had had some sleep and picked the story back up, I found it more easily understood. Whether this was because my mind was rested, my mind was adapted, or because the story was just good enough to suck me in, though, I couldn't say.)

I did enjoy this story, but after thinking it over between now and since I finished it, I'm realizing that I enjoyed it only because it was a good story, not because "I really liked it." I find it rather curious that it was such a sinister little story but NO ONE DIED.

All of the "mystery" was manufactured by Squire Vane and Doctor Brown as a way to debunk and remove the peacock trees.

It turned out that months passed between the start of this book and the end. I was rather surprised to read that Squire Vane spent time out of country, as it didn't feel like all that much time was passing. I also was a bit dissatisfied that, when the bones were found in the "well," everyone was mystified over the fact that they were dry. Why was no one astonished that they were denuded of all flesh and muscle? After all, it had only been maybe two days since the disappearance.

In the end, I was satisfied with the story's conclusion, but I think I'd have enjoyed it more if the whole reason for it hadn't just been to get rid of the trees. After all, surely there could have been a simpler way to go about that? Why didn't Doctor Brown just tell Squire Vane that the trees were responsible for the viruses and sicknesses in the village, like a deathly allergy?

So I find myself in the rather curious position of having really enjoyed this story only to feel sort of let down. And time has diminished my "great enjoyment," so "3.5 stars - good" it is.

Before I save this review, I have one more thing to sort of complain about. Barbara Vane turned out to be married to the poet Treherne. . . . That was it. When I was reading this story, I thought for sure that there'd turn out to be something hinky about their marriage, or the reason for their marriage, or something. But there wasn't. It just was.

So that's another reason to give this book "only" 3.5 stars: Why include the marriage when it didn't really matter for the story? :-(

In any event, this was a good story. :-)

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun mystery. Foreign trees planted in England. Many claim they are haunted and bring death. The owner says that is ridiculous so he goes to spend the night in the trees. He disappears.

GKC writes in such a lively way. His descriptions amaze me. A short book that is very worth the read.

[Sirin Mitrani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodreads’teki bir arkadaşımın (Argos) yorumunu okuyup hemen kitapyurdu’ndan siparişimi verdim, Türkiye’ye gittiğimde alır okurum diye ama Kitapyurdu bir sürpriz yapıp bir hafta boyunca e-kitap uygulamasından okuyabileceğimi bildirdi :)
Bu sayede Gilbert Keith Chesterton ile de tanışmış oldum. 1935de Nobel edebiyat ödülüne aday gösterilmiş 80 kitabı olan bu yazarı daha önceden tanımadığıma da üzüldüm.
Novella çok güzel. İngiltere kırsalında geçen hikayeleri bir de içinde gizem varsa çok severim. Zorunlu yatak istirahatinde olduğum şu dönemde ilaç gibi geldi.

[Núria · Rating 3 out of 5]

El primer llibre que he llegit de Chesterton; un relat breu que comença amb un misteri sobrenatural que muta en història policíaca.

[Bbrown · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you've read a lot of Chesterton's mysteries, you see many of the twists of this one coming. Upon the first meeting of the poet and the nobleman's daughter, you can guess how that's going to turn out- it's a favorite Chesterton trope. Likewise with the eventual resolution, which I'll admit I didn't have pegged down exactly, but with Chesterton you know that there's going to be something that reveals the story as not exactly how you assumed it to be. I really should have guessed the solution given that one of Chesterton's favorite drums to beat (which I find incredibly annoying) is the wisdom of the superstitions of the poor and the foolishness of the nobility for not paying those superstitions more heed. In both essays and stories alike Chesterton asserts that the educated world doesn't believe in things like ghosts because the common person does, and because the common person does the rest reject it out of hand. This never struck me as true- people of all classes believe such things, since money can't buy an understanding of the scientific method.

Anyway, back to the story, it didn't have many memorable lines like I'm used to for Chesterton, as there wasn't any character energetic enough and Chesterton-esque enough to deliver them. In some ways this was one of the most straight-forward mysteries I've ever read by Chesterton, with the main characters questioning suspects and gathering clues and analyzing the evidence. Unfortunately, the boilerplate mystery elements aren't what I go to Chesterton for. There wasn't the joy and happiness that usually characterizes many of Chesterton's stories, even those stories that are murder mysteries. In the end, therefore, I found this story serviceable, but it's not as good as the best Chesterton mysteries- Father Brown mysteries and The Club of Queer Trades both outshine this story in a myriad of ways. Still, I'd take mediocre Chesterton over the best works of most other authors any day of the week.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this story immediately following "The Man Who Knew Too Much". I enjoyed this much more simply because it was one story. Like the previous collection of stories this one doesn't get off to a quick start. There are lots of character introductions and, as this is one of my main difficulties with stories, I sometimes had trouble keeping them straight. The first chapter establishes the characters and the surrounding aura of the place the characters inhabit. The author does perhaps his best job (in the stories I have read) of building up the suspense and intrigue.

The clues are laid out in a subtle but clear way so that they are easy to follow and identify but not simple enough to put together too soon. With all that said I was very disapointed in the stories ending. With of the suspense, mystery and intrigue built up the author lets the air out of the balloon in the last chapter and the final climactic scene reminds me of the who shot JR story line on Dallas (never saw the show, but I was a big fan of I love the 80s) where the character wakes up and we realize it has all been a bad dream. This is a bit different but leaves you with the same feeling of being conned or swindled.

Overall, I would still highly recomend this read and still enjoyed the ending as part of the story even if it didn't seem quite fitting and a little contrived. I suppose in a way it was a pretty unexpected expected twist.

[Simon Stegall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike most of Chesterton's fiction that I've read (I humbly put forward that I've read quite a bit), Trees of Pride is surprisingly bare of philosophical or theological subtext. It's a pleasant change for Chesterton, if only because it demonstrates that he did not need to imbue his writing with analogy in order to entertain. The Trees of Pride is a good old fashioned murder mystery, and a good enough one that I couldn't predict the ending, as I am want to try to do.

Four stars. A nice little book that would do well for a Sunday afternoon.

[Cevizin_kitaplari · Rating 3 out of 5]

#gururağaçları #thetreesofpride #gkchesterton
Merhabalar, bugün size kısa ama okuması beni başlarda oldukça zorlayan bir kitapla geldim. Zorlamasının sebebi aşırı tasvir oluşur ve bu tasvirleri yazarın, kişiyi ya da mekanın tanıtmadan önce yapıp daha sonra mekanı söyleyerek ya da kişiyi söyleyerek ele alması. 1922 yılında basılmış kitap ilk kez. Künyeye bu bilgi girilmediği için goodreadsden baktım @dedaluskitap ilk basıldığı yıl yazılmalı künyeye. Yazarın o döneme ait yazarların tarzını yansıttığı da bir gerçek bu da eseri konusundan bağımsız ciddi okunan bir tarza sokuyor.
İngiltere Chesterton'a gidiyoruz. Vane ağa bir toprak ağası ve himayesindeki köylüler oranın yerlileri kelt kültüründen gelenler ve doğaüstüye olan düşkünlükleri üst düzeyde. Vane ağanın topraklarındaki tavus kuşu ağaçları o bölgede lanetli olarak görülüyor. Deniz aşırı getirilen ağaçlar birçok eski söylenceye maruz kalmış. Vane ağa ise ateist yapısıyla köylülerin ağaçlara düşman kesilmesini aşırı sinir bozucu buluyor. Gezgin amerikalı arkadaşı köylülerin düşünceleriyle eğlenmek amaçlı sürekli konuyu dürtüyor. Köylüler ise her rüzgarda garip insansı sesler çıkaran ağaçların insanları yediklerinden emin. Vane ağa herkesi susturmak için ağaçların altında bir gece geçirip döneceğini söyler ancak ortadan kaybolur. Olayın cinayet olduğunu düşünen arkadaşları olayı aydınlatmaya çalışırken bir yandan miras olayı patlak verir.
polisiye, gizem içeren kitap aynı zamanda Kelt inancı ve kültürüne de değiniyor. efsane, hayal ,gerçeklik arasında hikayeler okumayı sevenlere ve #whodunit kurgularını okuyanlara öneririm.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

📗When it comes to the Crime & Mistery genre, the British author G.K. Chesterton is best known by his Father Brown stories. But an “analogue hyperlink” in my recently reviewed Jorge Luis Borge’s “The Book of Fantasy” led me to this peculiar Chesterton’s “crime story” entitled “The Trees of Pride”.

📘Let me quickly brief you on its textual history. It was first published in 1922 almost as an add-on to Chesterton’s tightly packed collection of eight related stories called The Man who Knew Too Much. However, most later editions of that collection retained the core stories while progressively dropping “The Tree of Pride”. It can be found free though in the Gutenberg Project website.

📙”The Trees of Pride” -around 100 pages divided into 4 chapters- has greatly and nicely surprised me. To begin with, nothing in the 1st chapter makes you think you’re reading a Crime&Mistery story, so the criminal twist of the plot comes as a surprise. Secondly, it was an altogether new experience for me reading something that even though superficially akin to Agatha Christie’s novels for the somewhat contrived plot and the choice of the unlikeliest character as the culprit, is, at the same time, a different kettle of fish. You find here less stereotyped characters, some intermingled “social” ideas and, above all, a more elevated, richer and wittier English. See an example:

“His face was set toward the cliff, where, sheer out of the dwarf forest, rose, gigantic and gilded by the sun, the trees of pride.”

Recommended!

[JayD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just reread G K Chesterton's "The Trees of Pride" for the second time. After so many years I'd forgotten the ending and it was annoying me, even though I don't usually enjoy stories based on the supernatural. I should have enjoyed it better if I'd remembered that the whole thing was a terrific hoax and Chesterton must have had a good laugh writing it.

If you can stand the rather (deliberately) fanciful early chapters, it is as good a 'murder mystery' as there is and the ending packs a wonderful punch.

“If you go down to the Barbary Coast, where the last wedge of the forest narrows down between the desert and the great tideless sea, you will find the natives still telling a strange story about a saint of the Dark Ages. . . . They say that the hermit St. Securis, living there among trees, grew to love them like companions; since, though great giants with many arms like Briareus, they were the mildest and most blameless of the creatures; they did not devour like the lions, but rather opened their arms to all the little birds."

[Not · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this! Probably just as good or almost as good as The Man Who was Thursday. I don't usually like mystery stories but I enjoyed this because it stayed quite long in the element of the mystical and beautiful and eerie, and because the "detectives" were total amateurs, not "men who knew too much". Such a fun spin of twists and turns and guessing back and forth whether the local superstitions were true or false (something Chesterton is so good at making you doubt over and over again, no matter how rational you are), and with an outcome I thought was very poignant. This was what I was hoping for after The Man Who Was Thursday. As always, outstandingly beautiful descriptions that aren't just flowery but enticing.

[Rex Libris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A landed gentleman has a grove of exotic trees on his land that are reputed to kill people. All of the locals want to be rid of the trees, to which the owner says this all based on baseless superstition. The owner is challenged to spend the night in the grove. he accepts the challenge, but in he morning his friends find he is gone, and later they find a flensed skeleton. A murder investigation ensues.

The resolution of the case involves the trees being chopped down, but the motivation, and the final outcome is not what anyone expects.

[R.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read a fair bit of Chesterton in my day, I'll say that this isn't one of his most memorable works; nor does it contain his most interesting characters or his most startling insights. However, it's still jolly good reading, and there's food for thought in the conclusion. There are quotable sections and delightful turns of phrase as well, even if they're not as frequent as in some of his other books.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute entertaining listening 🔰😀

Another will written British thriller mystery adventure novel by G. K. Chesterton about where did he go to? Was it murder? And the investigation is on leading to the unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or 🎶 listening to 👍novels 🔰🏡🏰😃 2022

[Nate Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and topsy-turvy as ever. This comes from the later part of GKC's career, where his prejudice against landlords and the gentry were coming out more, and it shows. Still very well-written and worth a read for the delightful style and story.

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd story, but I love the picturesque seaside setting. Chesterton is not primarily known for being a wonderful verbal landscape painter, but it's one of my favorite things about his fiction writing.

[Angélica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The doctor rationale

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I expected. Not that I have the right to have my expectations met, but that final plot twist...!!?

[Ashley]

I don't know if it's bc I was listening to this book on audio but I had the hardest time following anything and I just... wasn't engaged and didn't care so 🤷🏻‍♀️ :p

[Deedra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book.It makes one think.Narration by Jack de Golia was well done.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clever murder mystery including a well and the peasants superstitions about the trees.