Father Brown Books
G. K. Chesterton is well known as a novelist, essayist, storyteller, poet, philosopher, theologian, historian, artist, and critic. He's less well-known as a journalist these days, yet all evidence indicates that he viewed his work for the various newspapers as his primary raison-de-etre. Therefore anyone interested in exploring the works of this colossal genius should include a sampling of his newspaper columns along with all of his other brilliant books.
Father Brown is an unlikely amateur detective. Short, stumpy, and angelic, he carries a huge umbrella and has a natural ability to intuit the solutions to criminal mysteries. The twelve tales in this book follow him through France, England, and Italy, as he gets caught up in cases involving everything from murder to treason.
In "The Incredulity of Father Brown," G.K. Chesterton treats us to another set of bizarre crimes that only his "stumpy" Roman Catholic prelate has the wisdom and mindset to solve. As usual, Chesterton loves playing with early twentieth-century class distinctions, "common-sense" assumptions, and the often anti-Catholic biases of his characters. He loves showing, through his characters, how those who hold themselves superior to the "fantasies" of Brown's Catholic faith themselves devolve into superstitious blithering when faced with the tiniest of mysteries. In this collection, Brown finds himself as the main event at his own funeral (The resurrection of Father Brown), contemplating the possibility of death from the sky (The arrow of heaven), piercing the mystery of a dog's "prophetic" behavior (The oracle of the dog), and facing off against a curse hanging about a medieval burial (The curse of the golden cross). A collection of excellent tales from one of the finest British mystery writ
Father Brown, an unassuming and shabbily dressed priest, possesses an incredible ability to solve crimes and murders. Here he reveals the secret of his success. He discovers the culprit by imagining himself to be inside the mind of the criminal. This fourth collection of Father Brown stories contains the magnificent ‘The Chief Mourner of Marne’- a fascinating story with unexpected twists – about a duel and a case of mistaken identity.
Another collection of G.K. Chesterton's ingenious, thoughtful, and lyrically written mystery stories featuring the unassuming little priest who solves crimes by imagining himself inside the mind and soul of criminals, thus understanding their motives. The stories are full of paradox, spiritual insight, and "Chestertonian fantasy," or seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. In the title story, a beautiful (and married) rich woman has taken up with a distinguished poet--and Father Brown, rather than reacting as expected, appears to be providing assistance. Also includes The Quick One, The Blast of the Book, The Green Man, The Pursuit of Mr Blue, The Crime of the Communist, The Point of a Pin, The Insoluble Problem, and The Vampire of the Village. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.