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“The Myth of the «Mayflower»” is a 1921 work by G. K. Chesterton. Within it, he attempts to separate fact from fiction concerning the story of the 'Mayflower', an English ship that transported early Pilgrims to the New World in 1620. The ship has since become an important part of American history and culture, as well as the subject of innumerable works of art, plays, films, poems, songs, books, etc. This fascinating treatise is highly recommended for those with an interest in this famous sea voyage and in American history and culture in general. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874– 1936) was an English philosopher, theologian, writer, and literary and art critic. Other notable works by this author include: “Heretics, Project Gutenberg” (1905), “The Innocence of Father Brown” (1911), and “The Man Who Was Thursday” (1908). Read & Co. History is republishing this classic work now complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

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Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English literary and social critic, historian, playwright, poet, Catholic theologian, debater, mystery writer and foremost, a novelist. Among the primary achievements of Chesterton's extensive writing career are the wide range of subjects written about, the large number of genres employed, and the sheer volume of publications produced. He wrote several plays, around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories and 4000 essays. Chesterton's writings without fail displayed wit and a sense of humor by incorporating paradox, yet still making serious comments on the world, government, politics, economics, theology, philosophy and many other topics. Chesterton saw England as being a culture in transition and in conflict with itself, and the struggles he saw play out dramatically in his story, «The Flying Inn». It is a tale of a man who is confronted by modern cultural trends. Mr. Humphrey Pump wants to visit the local pub in pursuit of a pleasant hour, but finds it is being shut down due to an unhealthy anachronism.

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Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English literary and social critic, historian, playwright, poet, Catholic theologian, debater, mystery writer and foremost, a novelist. Among the primary achievements of Chesterton's extensive writing career are the wide range of subjects written about, the large number of genres employed, and the sheer volume of publications produced. He wrote several plays, around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories and 4000 essays. Chesterton's writings without fail displayed wit and a sense of humor by incorporating paradox, yet still making serious comments on the world, government, politics, economics, theology, philosophy and many other topics. His talent as a mystery writer is displayed in his collection of detective stories, «The Man Who Knew Too Much». In each story, the star detective, Horne Fisher, deals with another strange mystery—the vanishing of a priceless coin, the framing of an Irish «prince» freedom fighter, an eccentric rich man dies during an obsessive fishing trip, another vanishing during an ice skate, a statue crushing his own uncle and a few more.

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First published in 1912, G. K. Chesterton’s “Manalive” is the fascinating and incredible story of Innocent Smith, a man who can be described as a “holy fool”. Innocent arrives at Beacon House, a London boarding establishment, and breathes new life into the residents with his games and antics. All in one day he creates the “High Court of Beacon”, decides to elope with one of the residents, and convinces another lodger to declare his love for the landlady’s niece. However, the authorities arrive and it is soon discovered that Smith is a suspected criminal who is to be brought up on charges of burglary, desertion of a spouse, polygamy, and attempted murder. The boarding house’s residents decide to keep his presence a secret and convene their own “High Court of Beacon” to determine Smith’s innocence or guilt. Smith’s trial is a comical affair where curious and hilarious explanations are given for the charges against Smith, proving that he is not a criminal but is instead a lovable, but naïve and foolish man. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Early 20th century English author Gilbert Keith Chesterton may be best remembered for his stories which feature the character of an English priest and detective named Father Brown. While the character was based on a real life priest who was involved in Chesterton’s own conversion of faith, the adventures and mysteries that Father Brown solves are purely fictional. Collected together here are fifteen of Chesterton’s most thrilling Father Brown tales which were first collected in “The Innocence of Father Brown” and “The Wisdom of Father Brown”. What is interesting about Father Brown is that he does not rely on deductive reasoning like other famous detectives, namely Sherlock Holmes. Instead, Father Brown relies on intuition. He puts himself into the mind of the perpetrator and figures out the criminal’s steps along the way. Part of what makes him a great detective is that Father Brown is never shocked by the atrocities that he sees. As a priest, he says that he has already heard about all the awful things people do and think; nothing surprises him anymore. He also refuses to believe in any supernatural explanations and instead focuses on a case’s reasonable explanation. “The Selected Tales of Father Brown” collects together some of Chesterton’s best Father Brown mysteries. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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First published in 1908, G. K. Chesterton’s “The Man Who Was Thursday” has been described as a metaphysical thriller. It is the story of Gabriel Syme, who is recruited by Scotland Yard as part of an anti-anarchist task force. When he meets Lucian Gregory, a poet and member of a secret society of anarchists, he gains access to the underground movement. The group is lead by a central council of seven men, each named for a day of the week. Gabriel convinces the local chapter to elect him to the vacant position of “Thursday” and he soon discovers that he is not the only one pretending to be something that he is not. What follows is one of the most absurd and clever plots to ever have been written, one in which Chesterton’s wonderfully high-spirited prose carries the reader along in a boisterous rush. Arguably the author’s finest work, certainly his most popular, “The Man Who Was Thursday” is a wild, mad, hilarious and profoundly moving tale that ultimately defies classification. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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A classic of Christian apologetics, the branch of Christian theology which seeks to offer reasoned defenses for Christianity against its objectors, G. K. Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy” is one of the author’s most enduring works. A self-described pagan and agnostic in his youth, Chesterton describes in this work how he came to believe in the importance of his own personal belief in Christianity. As he describes in his preface to the book, “It is the purpose of the writer to attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian Faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it. The book is therefore arranged upon the positive principle of a riddle and its answer. It deals first with all the writer’s own solitary and sincere speculations and then with all the startling style in which they were all suddenly satisfied by the Christian Theology.” Meant as a companion to Chesterton’s “Heretics” upon its first publication in 1908, this book makes the compelling argument that one needs faith to live happily in society. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Saint Francis of Assisi is the founder of the Franciscan Order and one of the most influential figures of medieval Christian history. First published in 1923, G. K. Chesterton’s “St. Francis of Assisi” is considered by many to be the definitive biography of the beloved religious leader and saint. Saint Francis was born to a prosperous merchant family and lived his early life carefree and consumed with material possessions. He underwent a religious conversion as a young adult and began to devote himself to a life of poverty and faith. While Saint Francis was never formally educated or ordained as a priest, he traveled the countryside preaching and built a strong following of faithful devotees who were inspired by his pure life of abstinence and piety. Saint Francis eventually received formal permission from the pope to create the Franciscan Order, which grew quickly. Centuries later, Saint Francis remains venerated the world over and is often associated with his love of animals and the natural world. “St. Francis of Assisi” is an engrossing and riveting portrayal of a man wholly devoted to his faith. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Acclaimed as the best book ever written on St. Thomas, this outstanding profile introduces one of Christianity's most important and influential thinkers. G. K. Chesterton chronicles the saint's life, focusing on the man and the events that shaped him, rather than on theology. In a concise, witty, and eminently readable narrative, he illustrates the relevance of St. Thomas' achievements to modern readers. Born into an aristocratic family, Thomas rejected a life of privilege to join a new order of preaching and teaching monks, the Dominicans. Chesterton compares Thomas' views to those of another famous thirteenth-century figure, St. Francis of Assisi. He also explores the influence of Aristotelian philosophy on Thomas' character, along with the effects of Parisian culture, society, and politics. The final chapter examines the impact of Thomas' work on later religious thinkers, including Martin Luther. This brief but vivid profile provides fascinating glimpses into the medieval scholastic movement, and it presents an excellent beginning to further explorations of St. Thomas Aquinas' works.

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"The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder."— G. K. ChestertonThe thirty-nine short essays that make up Chesterton's delightful book are the result of «sitting still and letting marvels and adventures settle on him like flies.» Actually, the author does move around quite a bit—to Germany, France, and on foot in England when he tires of waiting for a train. Everywhere he goes, Chesterton looks at ordinary things and asks us to see how extraordinary they are: the contents of his pockets, the items in a railway station, pedestrians in the street. What appear to be trifles are actually tremendous, and he uses them as a springboard to expound on Christianity, the nuclear family, democracy, and the like with supreme clarity and wit. The essays gathered here are a testament to G. K. Chesterton's faith—not his faith in religion or a higher power, but in the ability to discover something wonderful in the objects, the experiences, and the people that cross our paths every single day. With his unique brand of humor and insight, he demonstrates how the commonplace adds enormous value to the landscape of daily life. Full of both good sense and nonsense, Chesterton's commentaries—first published nearly a century ago—remain fresh today.

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