G. K. Chesterton wrote of Orthodoxy that it represented an attempt 'to state the philosophy in which I have come to believe' and to do so 'in a vague and personal way, in a set of mental pictures rather than in a series of deductions'. For most of its readers, it is the wittiest and most rollicking defence of the Christian faith ever written. Anticipating much modern theology, Catholic and Protestant, Chesterton's apologia is more personalistic than propositional. He understands that, in order to be credible, a belief system must appeal to the heart as well as to the mind. No one...

2017 Reprint of 1912 Edition.  Manalive (1912) is a book by G. K. Chesterton detailing a popular theme both in his own philosophy, and in Christianity, that of the "holy fool", such as in Dostoevsky's The Idiot and Cervantes' Don Quixote.  This is a book in two parts. The first, "The Enigma of Innocent Smith", concerns the arrival of a new tenant at Beacon House, a London boarding establishment. Like Mary Poppins, this man (who is tentatively identified by lodger Arthur Inglewood as an ex-schoolmate named Innocent Smith) is accompanied by a great wind,...

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The eight detective stories feature the activities of British sleuth of Horne Fisher, "the man who knew too much," and his best and most trusted Harold March. In the final adventure, "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...