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New Releases by G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton is the author of The Secret of Father Brown (2026), Saint Francis of Assisi (Summarized Edition) (2026), Orthodoxy - G. K. Chesterton (2025), The Man who was as Thursday (2024), The Man Who Was Thursday; A Nightmare (2022).

22 results found

The Secret of Father Brown

release date: Jun 02, 2026
The Secret of Father Brown
The Secret of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton is a carefully prepared Bookjack digital edition of classic mystery and detective fiction. The book is presented for clear ebook reading, with metadata and structure designed for discoverability in a modern digital catalogue. Readers will find a work shaped by secrets, investigation, suspicion, and the pleasure of narrative revelation, making it a useful addition for anyone exploring G. K. Chesterton's writing or building a library of enduring books.

Saint Francis of Assisi (Summarized Edition)

release date: Jan 10, 2026
Saint Francis of Assisi (Summarized Edition)
G. K. Chesterton's Saint Francis of Assisi is not a ledger of facts but a luminous interpretive life, weaving history, theology, and wit. From the public renunciation before the bishop to leper‐care, the Canticle of the Creatures, the founding of the Friars Minor, and the audience with the Sultan, Francis emerges as joy made credible. The prose is brisk and baroque, studded with paradox that opposes both Victorian sentimentality and modern utilitarianism. Written amid renewed interest in medieval spirituality, the book recasts sanctity as radical gratitude toward creation. A journalist, poet, and polemicist, Chesterton wrote the book in 1923, scarcely a year after his reception into the Catholic Church. His conversion, distributist social thought, and long critique of materialism supply the lens: Francis appears as a joyous rebel restoring proportion to the world. Imagination over archive, he crafts a theological psychology. Students of literary biography, Christian spirituality, and cultural criticism will find this bracing. Newcomers gain an accessible doorway to medieval holiness; seasoned readers will relish Chesterton's audacity. For those seeking a humanely joyful alternative to cynicism, this book offers freedom rooted in gratitude. Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable—distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Author Biography · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.

Orthodoxy - G. K. Chesterton

release date: Jun 13, 2025
Orthodoxy - G. K. Chesterton
Saint Thomas Aquinas is a foundational work that explores the synthesis between Christian faith and philosophical reason within the context of medieval thought. Through the study of his life and writings, particularly the Summa Theologiae, it reveals a profound approach to ethical, metaphysical, and theological questions that defined the Scholastic tradition. The work highlights how Aquinas integrated Aristotelian philosophy with Christian doctrine, shaping an intellectual framework that deeply influenced Western thought. Since its emergence, the figure of St. Thomas has been recognized for his logical rigor, clarity of argumentation, and his effort to harmonize faith and reason without subordinating one to the other. His views on being, natural law, and the ultimate purpose of human life remain central to philosophical and theological inquiry. The work endures for its invitation to critically reflect on morality, human freedom, and the role of reason in understanding the divine. The lasting relevance of Thomistic thought lies in its ability to address ethical and spiritual dilemmas from a rational and systematic perspective. By examining the relationship between humanity, God, and society, the work on St. Thomas Aquinas continues to offer intellectual tools for engaging with contemporary challenges through philosophical and spiritual depth.

The Man who was as Thursday

release date: May 24, 2024
The Man who was as Thursday
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936) was an English social and literary critic, author of verses, essays, novels, and short stories. His most emblematic work was The Man Who Was Thursday. The narrative is set at the end of the 19th century in a context filled with anarchist conspiracies and mysteries involving theological enigmas, free will, and the existence of evil in the form of the irrational. The protagonist is Detective Gabriel Syme, a poet committed to the fight against chaos, who was recruited by the anti-anarchist section of Scotland Yard. The Man Who Was Thursday was published to great success in 1908. It is a philosophical novel filled with action, adventure, and suspense that continues to captivate readers today, presenting them with paradoxes and moral and theological reflections that make them question themselves with every chapter.

The Man Who Was Thursday; A Nightmare

release date: Oct 28, 2022

The Mystery of Edwin Drood - With Appreciations and Criticisms By G. K. Chesterton

release date: Mar 06, 2020
The Mystery of Edwin Drood - With Appreciations and Criticisms By G. K. Chesterton
Charles Dickens's last and unfinished novel, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" was originally published in 1870. When Dickens died in 1870, just six of the intended twelve chapters had been completed, with no remaining plan or indication to how the story should continue. Despite this, numerous other writers have tried to complete the novel. The story revolves around the titular character's uncle, John Jasper, an opium addict and choirmaster who falls in love with his student and nephew's fianc�e, Rosa Bud. Rosa, however, has also attracted the attention of one Neville Landless, whom Edwin immediately dislikes. Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic famous for having created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters. His works became unprecedentedly popular during his life, and today he is commonly regarded as the greatest Victorian-era novelist. Although perhaps better known for such works as "Oliver Twist" or "A Christmas Carol", Dickens first gained success with the 1836 serial publication of "The Pickwick Papers", which turned him almost overnight into an international literary celebrity thanks to his humour, satire, and astute observations concerning society and character. This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with an introductory chapter from "Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens" by G. K. Chesterton.

The Man Who Was Thursday

release date: Jan 31, 2019
The Man Who Was Thursday
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1908. The book has been referred to as a metaphysical thriller.Although it deals with anarchists, the novel is not an exploration or rebuttal of anarchist thought; Chesterton's ad hoc construction of "Philosophical Anarchism" is distinguished from ordinary anarchism and is referred to several times not so much as a rebellion against government but as a rebellion against God.The novel has been described as "one of the hidden hinges of twentieth-century writing, the place where, before our eyes, the nonsense-fantastical tradition of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear pivots and becomes the nightmare-fantastical tradition of Kafka and Borges."

The Man Who Was Thursday a Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton

release date: Nov 29, 2017
The Man Who Was Thursday a Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1908. The book 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. He antagonises Gregory by asserting that the most poetical of human creations is the timetable for the London Underground. He suggests Gregory isn't really serious about anarchism, which so irritates Gregory that he takes Syme to an underground anarchist meeting place, revealing his public endorsement of anarchy is a ruse to make him seem harmless, when in fact he is an influential member of the local chapter of the European anarchist council.

The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. Chesterton - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)

release date: Jul 17, 2017
The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. Chesterton - Delphi Classics (Illustrated)
This eBook features the unabridged text of ‘The Club of Queer Trades’ from the bestselling edition of ‘The Complete Works of G. K. Chesterton’. Having established their name as the leading publisher of classic literature and art, Delphi Classics produce publications that are individually crafted with superior formatting, while introducing many rare texts for the first time in digital print. The Delphi Classics edition of Chesterton includes original annotations and illustrations relating to the life and works of the author, as well as individual tables of contents, allowing you to navigate eBooks quickly and easily. eBook features: * The complete unabridged text of ‘The Club of Queer Trades’ * Beautifully illustrated with images related to Chesterton’s works * Individual contents table, allowing easy navigation around the eBook * Excellent formatting of the textPlease visit www.delphiclassics.com to learn more about our wide range of titles

The Man Who Was Thursday, a Nightmare (1908) . By: G. K. Chesterton

release date: Jan 11, 2017
The Man Who Was Thursday, a Nightmare (1908) . By: G. K. Chesterton
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1907. The book 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. He antagonises Gregory by asserting that the most poetical of human creations is the timetable for the London Underground. He suggests Gregory isn't really serious about anarchism, which so irritates Gregory that he takes Syme to an underground anarchist meeting place, revealing his public endorsement of anarchy is a ruse to make him seem harmless, when in fact he is an influential member of the local chapter of the European anarchist council. The central council consists of seven men, each using the name of a day of the week as a cover; the position of Thursday is about to be elected by Gregory's local chapter. Gregory expects to win the election but just before, Syme reveals to Gregory after an oath of secrecy, that he is a secret policeman. Fearful Syme may use his speech in evidence of a prosecution, Gregory's weakened words fail to convince the local chapter that he is sufficiently dangerous for the job. Syme makes a rousing anarchist speech and wins the vote. He is sent immediately as the chapter's delegate to the central council. In his efforts to thwart the council, Syme eventually discovers that the other five members are also undercover detectives; each was employed just as mysteriously and assigned to defeat the Council. They soon find out they were fighting each other and not real anarchists; such was the mastermind plan of their president, Sunday. In a surreal conclusion, Sunday is unmasked as only seeming to be terrible; in fact, he is a force of good like the detectives. Sunday is unable to give an answer to the question of why he caused so much trouble and pain for the detectives. Gregory, the only real anarchist, seems to challenge the good council. His accusation is that they, as rulers, have never suffered like Gregory and their other subjects and so their power is illegitimate. Syme refutes the accusation immediately, because of the terrors inflicted by Sunday on the rest of the council. The dream ends when Sunday is asked if he has ever suffered. His last words, "can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?," is the question Jesus asks St. James and St. John in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, vs 38-39, to challenge their commitment in becoming his disciples... Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG (29 May 1874 - 14 June 1936), better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox." Time magazine has observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories-first carefully turning them inside out." Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown, and for his reasoned apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognised the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.Chesterton, as a political thinker, cast aspersions on both Progressivism and Conservatism, saying, "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Catholicism from High Church Anglicanism....

Charles Dickens; a Critical Study, by G. K. Chesterton

release date: Jul 20, 2016
Charles Dickens; a Critical Study, by G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, (29 May 1874 - 14 June 1936), better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox."Time magazine has observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories-first carefully turning them inside out."Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown, and for his reasoned apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognized the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.Chesterton, as a political thinker, cast aspersions on both Progressivism and Conservatism, saying, "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Catholicism from High Church Anglicanism. George Bernard Shaw, Chesterton's "friendly enemy" according to Time, said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius."Biographers have identified him as a successor to such Victorian authors as Matthew Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, Cardinal John Henry Newman, and John Ruskin. Early life Chesterton was born in Campden Hill in Kensington, London, the son of Marie Louise, nee Grosjean, and Edward Chesterton. He was baptized at the age of one month into the Church of England, though his family themselves were irregularly practising Unitarians.According to his autobiography, as a young man Chesterton became fascinated with the occult and, along with his brother Cecil, experimented with Ouija boards.Chesterton was educated at St Paul's School, then attended the Slade School of Art in order to become an illustrator. The Slade is a department of University College London, where Chesterton also took classes in literature, but did not complete a degree in either subject.............

The Man Who Was Thursday (1908), by G. K. Chesterton

release date: Jul 01, 2016
The Man Who Was Thursday (1908), by G. K. Chesterton
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare is a novel by G. K. Chesterton, first published in 1908. The book 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. He antagonizes Gregory by asserting that the most poetical of human creations is the timetable for the London Underground. He suggests Gregory isn't really serious about anarchism, which so irritates Gregory that he takes Syme to an underground anarchist meeting place, revealing his public endorsement of anarchy is a ruse to make him seem harmless, when in fact he is an influential member of the local chapter of the European anarchist council.The work is prefixed with a poem written to Edmund Clerihew Bentley, revisiting the pair's early history and the challenges presented to their early faith by the times. Like most of Chesterton's fiction, the story includes some Christian allegory. Chesterton, a Protestant at this time (he joined the Roman Catholic Church about 15 years later), suffered from a brief bout of depression during his college days, and claimed afterwards he wrote this book as an unusual affirmation that goodness and right were at the heart of every aspect of the world. However, he insisted: "The book ... was not intended to describe the real world as it was, or as I thought it was, even when my thoughts were considerably less settled than they are now. It was intended to describe the world of wild doubt and despair which the pessimists were generally describing at that date; with just a gleam of hope in some double meaning of the doubt, which even the pessimists felt in some fitful fashion." The costumes the detectives don towards the end of the book represent what was created on their respective day. Sunday, "the sabbath" and "the peace of God," sits upon a throne in front of them. The name of the girl Syme likes, Rosamond, is derived from "Rosa Mundi," meaning "Rose of the World" in Latin, and a title given to Christ.(Usually a title given to the Virgin Mary) The central council consists of seven men, each using the name of a day of the week as a cover name; the position of Thursday is about to be elected by Gregory's local chapter. Gregory expects to win the election but just before, Syme reveals to Gregory after an oath of secrecy, that he is a secret policeman. Fearful Syme may use his speech in evidence of a prosecution, Gregory's weakened words fail to convince the local chapter that he is sufficiently dangerous for the job. Syme makes a rousing anarchist speech and wins the vote. He is sent immediately as the chapter's delegate to the central council.In his efforts to thwart the council, Syme eventually discovers that the other five members are also undercover detectives; each was employed just as mysteriously and assigned to defeat the Council. They soon find out they were fighting each other and not real anarchists; such was the mastermind plan of their president, Sunday. In a surreal conclusion, Sunday is unmasked as only seeming to be terrible; in fact, he is a force of good like the detectives. Sunday is unable to give an answer to the question of why he caused so much trouble and pain for the detectives. Gregory, the only real anarchist, seems to challenge the good council. His accusation is that they, as rulers, have never suffered like Gregory and their other subjects and so their power is illegitimate. Syme refutes the accusation immediately, because of the terrors inflicted by Sunday on the rest of the council....

Alarms and Discursions

release date: Mar 31, 2016
Alarms and Discursions
This early work by G. K. Chesterton was originally published in 1911. Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London in 1874. He studied at the Slade School of Art, and upon graduating began to work as a freelance journalist. Over the course of his life, his literary output was incredibly diverse and highly prolific, ranging from philosophy and ontology to art criticism and detective fiction. However, he is probably best-remembered for his Christian apologetics, most notably in Orthodoxy (1908) and The Everlasting Man (1925). We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Man Who Was Thursday, a Nightmare

release date: Feb 13, 2016
The Man Who Was Thursday, a Nightmare
G.K. Chesterton's 1908 masterpiece, The Man Who Was Thursday, is a metaphysical thriller, and a detective story filled with poetry and politics. Gabriel Syme is a poet and a police detective. Lucian Gregory is a poet and a bomb-throwing anarchist. Syme infiltrates a secret meeting of anarchists and becomes 'Thursday', one of the seven members of the Central Anarchist Council. He soon learns, however, that he is not the only one in disguise, and the nightmare begins

What's Wrong with the World (1910) by G. K. Chesterton (Original Classics)

release date: Jan 09, 2016
What's Wrong with the World (1910) by G. K. Chesterton (Original Classics)
In What's Wrong With The World Chesterton rightly points out that what people see as "wrong with the world" are only the symptoms of a deeper problem. He shows that our governments, be they capitalistic or socialistic, also fail to see the deeper problem. With a keen wit and lively prose he cuts directly to the true problems that society must deal with and his solutions feel utterly correct.

Eugenics and Other Evils

release date: May 01, 2015
Eugenics and Other Evils
When the concept of eugenics -- the practice of selecting for desirable traits in the larger population by encouraging gifted and/or attractive people to breed -- began to take hold in the early twentieth century, British thinker and writer G.K. Chesterton took a stance contrary to that of many intellectuals of the period and denounced it as evil in this bold, engaging series of essays.

The Innocence of Father Brown

release date: Aug 26, 2014
The Innocence of Father Brown
The delightful debut of G. K. Chesterton’s most famous literary creation In his day, Flambeau was a legend of the underworld. Even now, his old confederates remember with pride the Tyrolean Dairy scheme, in which he built a thriving milk business despite owning not a single cow. But today the master thief finally meets his match. Attempting to steal a priceless cross, Flambeau runs afoul of Father Brown, an ordinary-looking priest with amazing insight into the criminal mind. With grace, logic, and good humor, the stout little clergyman soon reforms one of England’s most notorious villains. In thrilling tales such as “The Blue Cross,” “The Secret Garden,” and “The Hammer of God,” G. K. Chesterton’s immortal priest-detective applies his extraordinary intuition to the most intricate of mysteries. No corner of the human soul is too dark for Father Brown, no villain too ingenious. The Innocence of Father Brown is a testament to the power of faith and the pleasure of a story well told. This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

The Wisdom of Father Brown

release date: Aug 03, 2014
The Wisdom of Father Brown
ONE — The Absence of Mr Glass TWO — The Paradise of Thieves THREE — The Duel of Dr Hirsch FOUR — The Man in the Passage FIVE — The Mistake of the Machine SIX — The Head of Caesar SEVEN — The Purple Wig EIGHT — The Perishing of the Pendragons NINE — The God of the Gongs TEN — The Salad of Colonel Cray ELEVEN — The Strange Crime of John Boulnois TWELVE — The Fairy Tale of Father Brown

A Chesterton Calendar

release date: Jan 01, 2014
A Chesterton Calendar
It will be found that almost all Mr. G. K. Chesterton's books have been utilized in the making of this Calendar. A word of acknowledgment is due to the various publishers for their courtesy in permitting this: to Messrs. Grant Richards, Arthur L. Humphreys, J. W. Arrowsmith, John Lane, J. M. Dent & Co., Macmillan & Co., Duckworth & Co., Harper & Co., Cassell & Co., and Methuen & Co. Recourse has been had also to the files of the 'Daily News,' the 'Illustrated London News,' and other journals to which Mr. Chesterton has been a contributor. The present publishers feel they are peculiarly indebted to Mr. Chesterton himself for his kindness in allowing them to include certain verses from poems which have not yet been printed in extensoelsewhere. Aeterna Press

The Ballad of the White Horse

release date: Jan 01, 2001
The Ballad of the White Horse
A reproduction of G.K. Chesterton's "The Ballad of the White Horse" that is accompanied by Robert Austin's woodcuts and a thorough introduction to the epic poem.

Saint Francis of Assisi

release date: Nov 17, 1987
Saint Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi is, after Mary of Nazareth, the greatest saint in the Christian calendar, and one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. By universal acclaim, this biography by G. K. Chesterton is considered the best appreciation of Francis's life--the one that gets to the heart of the matter. For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figure, a man who loved women but vowed himself to chastity; an artist who loved the pleasures of the natural world as few have loved them, but vowed himself to the most austere poverty, stripping himself naked in the public square so all could see that he had renounced his worldly goods; a clown who stood on his head in order to see the world aright. Chesterton gives us Francis in his world-the riotously colorful world of the High Middle Ages, a world with more pageantry and romance than we have seen before or since. Here is the Francis who tried to end the Crusades by talking to the Saracens, and who interceded with the emperor on behalf of the birds. Here is the Francis who inspired a revolution in art that began with Giotto and a revolution in poetry that began with Dante. Here is the Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, who invented the creche.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas
G.K. Chesterton's brilliant sketch of the life and thought of Thomas Aquinas is as relevant today as when it was published in 1933. Then it earned the praise of such distinguished writers as Etienne Gilson, Jacques Martain, and Anton Pegis as the best book ever written on the great thirteenth-century Dominican. Today Chesterton's classic stands poised to reveal Thomas to a new generation. Chesterton's Aquinas is a man of mystery. Born into a noble Neapolitan family, Thomas chose the life of a mendicant friar. Lumbering and shy -- his classmates dubbed him "the Dumb Ox" -- he led a revolution in Christian thought. Possessed of the rarest brilliance, he found the highest truth in the humblest object. Having spent his life amid the vast intricacies of reason, he asked on his deathbed to have read aloud the Song of Songs, the most passionate book in the Bible. As Albert the Great, Thomas's teacher, predicted, the Dumb Ox has bellowed down the ages to our own day. Chesterton's book will enlighten those who would consign Thomas to the obscurity of medieval times. It will confound those who would use Thomas to bolster arid schemes of Christian rationalism. Rather, it will introduce the wondrous mystery of the man who, after a life of unparalleled genius, was seized by a vision of the Unknown and said, "I can write no more. I have seen things which make all my writings like straw."
22 results found


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