Who was G.K. Chesterton?
The author of The Innocence of Father Brown, Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), was one of the dominating figures of the London literary scene in the early 20th century. He wasn’t just a great writer, he was also a great thinker. Chesterton said something about everything, he wrote about seemingly every topic, in every genre; plays, poems, novels… He did it all. The man was known also for his exuberant personality and his rotund figure. "He was close to 400 pounds," noted one chauffeur, in whose car door Chesterton was once stuck, "but he'd never give it away." Chesterton took his dilemma, like every other subject imaginable, with humor. He said he would have tried to exit the car sideways, but "I have no sideways."
G.K. Chesterton’s writings were of three kinds: social criticism (The Defendant, Twelve Types, Heretics), literary criticism (Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens), and theology (Orthodoxy).
“Humor can get in under the door while seriousness is still fumbling at the handle”
G.K. Chesterton
Plot diagrams
Purpose
"The Innocence of Father Brown" is the first collection of mystery short stories involving the fictional character Father Brown. Inspired by Father John O'Connor, GK Chesterton's friend and Catholic priest, Father Brown became one of the greatest fictional characters in detective mystery stories. Father Brown was a short unsuspecting priest with glasses who would solve crimes by understanding the human mind and soul of the criminals involved. This was a radically different approach from the imitators of Sherlock Holmes, trying to overdo each other with strange crimes focusing on physical clues. Many stories in The Innocence of Father Brown are filled with paradox, an understanding of human nature, and spiritual insight from the priest with Chesterton’s unique style of looking into the ordinary as extraordinary. The Father Brown series has led to the inspiration of Agatha Christie and many other writers. Alfred Hitchcock admired the Father Brown series as well.
Personal opinion
I highly recommend this book. Though they have their loose ends here and there, I really enjoyed reading these stories as they are unpredictable and they have a message that teaches me about human nature, which I appreciate. I also love the way Father Brown decodes and solves the mysteries, he always pays attention to what the other characters overlook.
