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Essential G K Chesterton
This selection includes the complete novel 'The Man Who Was Thursday' and a fine selection of verse, but particularly his work as a journalist and essayist.
514 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
G.K. Chesterton
4,621 books5,896 followersGilbert 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 2, 2012
I have read most of these works at least once before, but working through this massive volume is giving me the joy of reading them again, sometimes for the third or fourth time, in a new context.
This is not a great collection for a first time Chesterton reader, however. If you like fiction, start with the Father Brown Mysteries,which are light and easy to read, but will accustom you to the "Prince of Paradox". Next, The Man Who Was Thursday or The Ball and the Cross . Then the Non Fiction, maybe a few of his short essays and Manalive. These are all available free from several sources, Gutenberg.org and Amazon.com , and paid with more features.
I have this collection simply as a different way to read his great works, and to have all of them in one place.
This is not a great collection for a first time Chesterton reader, however. If you like fiction, start with the Father Brown Mysteries,which are light and easy to read, but will accustom you to the "Prince of Paradox". Next, The Man Who Was Thursday or The Ball and the Cross . Then the Non Fiction, maybe a few of his short essays and Manalive. These are all available free from several sources, Gutenberg.org and Amazon.com , and paid with more features.
I have this collection simply as a different way to read his great works, and to have all of them in one place.
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May 21, 2012Seems everywhere I turn there is another lovely, simple quote from GK Chesterton, so I'm heading to the source to see what I've been missing.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews