What do you think?
Rate this book
Father Brown #3-5
The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton Volume 13: Father Brown Stories - Part II
G.K. Chesterton The Incredulity of Fr. Brown The Secret of Fr. Brown The Scandal of Fr. Brown The Vampire of the Village The Mask of Midas Introduction and notes by John Peterson G.K. Chesterton, one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century, is most famous for a series of mystery stories and novelettes that feature the Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Brown. The stories have proved to be enduringly popular, containing profound observations of the world, human character, philosophy, morality and religion. John Peterson, the editor of Father Brown of the Church of Rome, takes the reader through this group of stories, giving valuable annotations as well as an introduction that gives a fascinating look at Chesterton’s detective fiction. Fans of Father Brown and Chesterton will be delighted by this latest volume in the Collected Works.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
2 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
G.K. Chesterton
4,618 books5,886 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 4, 2015
My review will concentrate on The Scandal of Father Brown as well as the two previously uncollected stories, "The Vampire of the Village" and "The Mask of Midas." (The other two were previously read and reviewed by me.)
G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories follow a pretty clearly definable pattern: Near the beginning of the story, we are introduced, almost in passing, to a dumpling of a man in clerical garb, most notable for his general aura of nondescriptability. Around the time the crime is introduced, we have a brief, strikingly described scene of nature somehow gone awry, indicating an atmosphere of moral wrong. (This is not true of all the stories, but certainly most of them.) Finally, the little priest tags along with the policemen, or his colleague Flambeau, or some other person and it is always his comments which solve the crime.
Does Father Brown ever actually physically collar the malefactor? I can't recall any case of that happening. It is his unique responsiveness to the fact that something is amiss in the natural order of things that brings his powerful mind into play.
The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton Volume 13: Father Brown Stories - Part II (The Incredulity of Father Brown, The Secret of Father Brown, The Scandal of Father Brown, The Vampire of the Village, The Mask of Midas) shows that the quality of Chesterton's Father Brown stories never wavered during the quarter century that he wrote them. In the earlier volume (Volume 12), the stories were slightly closer to the detective story genre. However, Father Brown was never quite so interested in solving the crimes as in restoring the moral order and making things right.
G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown stories follow a pretty clearly definable pattern: Near the beginning of the story, we are introduced, almost in passing, to a dumpling of a man in clerical garb, most notable for his general aura of nondescriptability. Around the time the crime is introduced, we have a brief, strikingly described scene of nature somehow gone awry, indicating an atmosphere of moral wrong. (This is not true of all the stories, but certainly most of them.) Finally, the little priest tags along with the policemen, or his colleague Flambeau, or some other person and it is always his comments which solve the crime.
Does Father Brown ever actually physically collar the malefactor? I can't recall any case of that happening. It is his unique responsiveness to the fact that something is amiss in the natural order of things that brings his powerful mind into play.
The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton Volume 13: Father Brown Stories - Part II (The Incredulity of Father Brown, The Secret of Father Brown, The Scandal of Father Brown, The Vampire of the Village, The Mask of Midas) shows that the quality of Chesterton's Father Brown stories never wavered during the quarter century that he wrote them. In the earlier volume (Volume 12), the stories were slightly closer to the detective story genre. However, Father Brown was never quite so interested in solving the crimes as in restoring the moral order and making things right.
Displaying 1 of 1 review