The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is sometimes referred to as a metaphysical thriller. In Edwardian era London, Gabriel Syme is recruited at Scotland Yard to a secret anti-anarchist police corps. Lucian Gregory, an anarchistic poet, lives in the suburb of Saffron Park. Syme meets him at a party and they debate the meaning of poetry. Gregory argues that revolt is the basis of poetry. Syme demurs, insisting the essence of poetry is not revolution but law.
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The Napoleon of Notting Hill

The Napoleon of Notting Hill

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About The Napoleon Of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton The Napoleon of Notting Hill is a novel written by G. K. Chesterton in 1904, set in a nearly unchanged London in 1984. Although the novel is set in the future, it is, in effect, set in an alternative reality of Chesterton's own period, with no advances in technology or changes in the class system or attitudes. It postulates an impersonal government, not described in any detail, but apparently content to operate through a figurehead king, randomly chosen.
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The Universe According to G. K. Chesterton

The Universe According to G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

Fashion: An ideals that fails to satisfy.Water: A medicine. It should be taken in small quantities in very extreme cases; as when one is going to faint.Work: Doing what you do not like.This quirky, original compilation serves up the eccentric wit and thought-provoking aphorisms of one of the twentieth century's liveliest and most articulate minds. Assembled by the president of the American Chesterton Society, it features alphabetical entries of "Chesternitions"—pithy and poetic definitions of words in the spirit of Samuel Johnson. Great for casual browsing or cover-to-cover study, the volume includes more than two dozen of Chesterton's distinctive drawings.
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The Trees of Pride

The Trees of Pride

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

"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."
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The Man Who Knew Too Much

The Man Who Knew Too Much

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

The Man Who Knew Too Much is a book of detective stories by English writer G. K. Chesterton, published in 1922 by Cassell and Company in the United Kingdom, and Harper Brothers in the United States. The book contains eight connected short stories about "The Man Who Knew Too Much", and additional unconnected stories featuring separate heroes/detectives. The United States edition contained one of these additional stories: "The Trees of Pride", while the United Kingdom edition contained "Trees of Pride" and three more, shorter stories: "The Garden of Smoke", "The Five of Swords" and "The Tower of Treason". Horne Fisher, "The Man Who Knew Too Much", is the main protagonist of the first eight stories. In the final story, "The Vengeance of the Statue", Fisher notes: "The Prime Minister is my father\'s friend. The Foreign Minister married my sister. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is my first cousin." Because of these intimate relationships with the leading political figures in the land, Fisher knows too much about the private politics behind the public politics of the day. This knowledge is a burden to him in the eight stories, because he is able to uncover the injustices and corruptions of the murders in each story, but in most cases the real killer gets away with the killing because to bring him openly to justice would create a greater chaos: starting a war, reinciting Irish rebellions or removing public faith in the government.
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The Essential G. K. Chesterton

The Essential G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

In 1900 a new writer took England by a storm. Writing intelligently and well on a wide variety of topics, G. K. Chesterton defied categorization. Although deeply patriotic, he was one of the few to oppose the Boer War. A gifted literary critic, he nevertheless defended 'penny dreadfuls' read by young boys and condemned by almost everyone else. And in an era of unbridled capitalism and fashionable socialism, he unleashed telling broadsides against both. In 1908 his brother Cecil wrote this biography. That book is now back in print in an enhanced and enlarged 'Centennial Edition' with numerous notes explaining the context and appendices with both sides of G. K. Chesterton's famous 1908 debate about socialism with H. G. Wells and Bernard Shaw, including Chesterton's marvelous "On Wells and a Glass of Beer."
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Manalive

Manalive

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

A masterpiece in two parts, G.K. Chesterton\'s Manalive is a commentary on the "Holy Fool" trope that shows up in many classic texts such as Don Quixote. The book follows the fun loving Innocent Smith who, after bringing joy to a boarding house, is charged with a series of crimes including attempted murder. The second half covers the trial which, through many twists and turns, brings out a stunning conclusion that touches upon many larger ideas. At the center of the novel is the idea of human life, and what makes everyday living worthwhile.
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The Ball and the Cross

The Ball and the Cross

G. K. Chesterton

Fiction / Crime / Religion

Like much of G. K. Chesterton\'s fiction, The Ball and the Cross is both witty and profound, cloaking serious religious and philosophical inquiry in sparkling humor and whimsy. Serialized in the British publication The Commonwealth in 1905-06, Chesterton\'s second novel first appeared in book form in America in 1909, delighting and challenging readers with its heady mixture of fantasy, farce, and theology.The plot of The Ball and the Cross chronicles a hot dispute between two Scotsmen, one a devout but naive Roman Catholic, the other a zealous but naive atheist. Their fanatically held opinions—leading to a duel that is proposed but never fought—inspire a host of comic adventures whose allegorical levels vigorously explore the debate between theism and atheism.Martin Gardner\'s superb introduction to The Ball and the Cross reveals the real-life debate between Chesterton and a famous atheist that provided inspiration for the story, and it explores some of the novel\'s possible allegorical meanings. Appraising the book\'s many intriguing philosophical qualities, Mr. Gardner alerts readers as well to the pleasures of its "colorful style . . . amusing puns and clever paradoxes . . . and the humor and melodrama of its crazy plot."
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