Life of G.K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was born in Campden Hill in Kensington, London, to Marie Louise, née Grosjean, and Edward Chesterton. His parents were practicing but spotty Unitarians. Never the less the young Chesterton was baptized at one month of age into the church of England. Despite Gilbert’s upbringing, he and his brother both developed a fascination with the occult and experimented with various rituals. Though some years later, in 1901, G.K would marry Frances Blogg, and Chesterton would credit her with bringing him back to his Anglicanism faith. Though some years later, he would move from Anglicanism to Catholicism.
G.K was educated at St Paul’s School before moving onto the Slade School of Art; he wanted to be an illustrator. As fate would have it, he took some literature class while attending the Slade School of Art and ended up falling in love with it. Though he did not end with a degree in either of his studies, Chesterton went on to be a prolific author, writing 100 books and making contributions to more than 200 others. He wrote novels, plays, poems, short stories, and newspaper essays, of which he wrote around 4000. G.K wrote and defended those things which he loved and felt important, those things being fairyland, common sense, and Christianity.
On top of his expansive literary career, he was a genuinely likable guy. Chesterton was witty, warm, brilliant, and standing at six foot four inches weighing three hundred pounds, he was an archetype of the proverbial teddy bear. Anyone who came in contact with G.K instantly enjoyed his company, even if you happened to find yourself across from him in a debate. Though you would undoubtedly lose, you would not feel any worse for having done so. G.K Chesterton influenced so many people through not only his literary career but also through personal interaction with him. For all the good and brilliant things that G.K was, he was also a bit airheaded when it came to more administrative areas of his life. In one famous and widely told story, G.K famously wired his wife, saying, “Am at Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?” His wife graciously kept the large philosophic titian from missing appointments until G.K later hired a secretary.
Books Written By G.K. Chesterton
As I have stated above, G.K Chesterton has had an extensive literary career. I could not list all of his books here and do them adequate justice. For that reason, I have select only a few that have shaped the way that I think, feel, and interact with the world.
Orthodoxy
Chesterton was challenged to defend his Christian faith. Orthodoxy is one part serious philosophy and one part autobiography. Chesterton’s wit and humor, as well as his ability to clearly define abstract concepts, shines through in this short, brilliant book. If you’d like to listen to the audiobook, you can pick up a free narration with a free trial of Audible.
Click HERE to start listening to Orthodoxy for free!
Heretics
Chesterton published a combination of 20 essays under this title in 1905 to articulate the fallacious reasoning of his time. Most of the wrong thinking he described in the book still takes place today making this book a timeless classic. This book, along with most of his other publications, can be found in the public domain and downloaded HERE for free!
Manalive
A novel about Innocent Smith, a man who makes untidy himself to tidy the world and carries a pistol not to deal with death but to deal life. The story is captivating, challenging, and eye-opening. Chesterton flips the world on its head to see it the right way round. If you would like dramatized audio rendition of the novel, you can find a copy on Audible.com, to start listening to ManAlive for free click HERE!
While most of his most famous books can be found on Amazon Kindle with narration on Audible, you can also find them in the public domain for free. You can find most of them HERE!
Quotes By G.K. Chesterton
Without further ado below, you will find 48 of G.K Chesterton’s most famous quotes.
