Father Brown Mystery Stories

Beloved clerical sleuth in roster of remarkable cases: "The Blue Cross," "The Sins of Prince Saradine," "The Sign of the Broken Sword," "The Man in the Passage," "The Perishing of the Pendragons," more.

The complete adventures of the well-loved clerical sleuth, collected in one brilliant volume. Shabby and lumbering, with a face like a Norfolk dumpling, Father Brown makes for an improbable super-sleuth. But his innocence is the secret of his success: refusing the scientific method of detection, he adopts instead an approach of simple sympathy, interpreting each crime as a work of art, and each criminal as a man no worse than himself. This complete edition brings together all of the Father Brown stories, including two not previously available in Penguin: 'The Donnington Affair', in which Chesterton rises to the challenge of solving a murder-mystery half written by someone else (Max Pemberton), and 'The Mask of Midas', which was found in Chesterton's papers after his death. It also includes an introduction and notes by Michael D. Hurley. G.K. Chesteron was born in 1874. He attended the Slade School of Art, where he appears to have suffered a nervous breakdown, before turning his hand to journalism. A prolific writer throughout his life, his best-known books include The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904), The Man Who Knew Too Much(1922), The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) and the Father Brown stories. Chesterton converted to Roman Catholicism in 1922 and died in 1938. Michael D. Hurley is a Lecturer in English at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of St Catharine's College. He has written widely on English literature from the nineteenth century to the present day, with an emphasis on poetry and poetics. His book on G. K. Chesterton was published in 2011.

G. K. Chesterton's fictional amateur detective, the genial Father Brown, was greeted with huge enthusiasm when he first appeared in The Story-Teller magazine in 1910. Depicted with Chesterton's characteristic elegance and wit, this unworldly but perceptive priest-sleuth soon became a major figure in the world of whodunit fiction and continues to charm readers today. This handsome hardback anthology contains 24 Father Brown short stories, including 'The Blue Cross', 'The Secret Garden', 'The Wrong Shape', and 'The Three Tools of Death', in which the unassuming Father exercises his formidable powers of intuition and analysis to solve a range of crimes. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classic Mysteries and Marvels series brings together thrilling short stories from classic fiction, including spine-chilling ghost stories, gripping detective fiction and cosmic horror. These hardback anthologies with foil-embossed cover designs make wonderful gifts for any classic lover.

G. K. Chesterton’s Father Brown may seem a pleasantly doddering Roman Catholic priest, but appearances deceive. With keen observation and an unerring sense of man’s frailties–gained during his years listening to confessions–Father Brown succeeds in bringing even the most elusive criminals to justice. This definitive collection of fifteen stories, selected by the American Chesterton Society, includes such classics as “The Blue Cross,” “The Secret Garden,” and “The Paradise of Thieves.” As P. D. James writes in her Introduction, “We read the Father Brown stories for a variety pleasures, including their ingenuity, their wit and intelligence, and for the brilliance of the writing. But they provide more. Chesterton was concerned with the greatest of all problems, the vagaries of the human heart.”

This carefully crafted ebook: "The Complete Father Brown Mysteries (Unabridged)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. Father Brown is a fictional character created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who stars in 51 detective short stories , most of which were later compiled in five books. Chesterton based the character on Father John O'Connor, a parish priest in Bradford who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism. The relationship was recorded by O'Connor in his 1937 book Father Brown on Chesterton. This omnibus contains the following books: 1. The Innocence of Father Brown 2. The Wisdom of Father Brown 3. The Incredulity of Father Brown 4. The Secret of Father Brown 5. The Scandal of Father Brown Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936) was an English writer, lay theologian, poet, dramatist, journalist, orator, literary and art critic, biographer, and Christian apologist. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox".

Includes The Incredulity of Father Brown, The Secret of Father Brown, and The Scandal of Father Brown. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.

This unique collection of Father Brown mysteries links tales by G.K. Chesterton with the Ten Commandments. The connection is often surprising, however, for the criminal is not necessarily the worst sinner in the story, nor is his crime necessarily the worst offense. When Chesterton created the character of Father Brown, he brought a new dimension to mystery stories--the distinction between crime and sin. As the priest- detective applies his powers of observation to solve a case, he picks up clues about other offenses, such as those against the Sabbath or one's parents. Father Brown's main concern is not the laws of the State but the Commandments of God. As Dorothy Sayers once wrote, G.K. Chesterton was "the first man of our time to introduce the great name of God into a detective story . . . to enlarge the boundaries of the detective story by making it deal with death and real wickedness and real, that is to say, divine judgment." This edition includes footnotes not available in other versions, which help to clarify the literary and historical allusions made by Father Brown. It is based on the texts of Chesterton's original editions, for assurance of authenticity, and is set in easily readable type. "John Peterson is the world's greatest expert on Chesterton's famous priest- detective. His presentation of these particular Father Brown stories only adds to their craftiness and profundity." — Dale Ahlquist, President, American Chesterton Society

In this fifth and final set of Father Brown mysteries G K Chesterton's short, shabby priest continues, in his humorous, effortless but powerfully effective way to solve a wide range of high crimes and misdemeanours.

GK Chesterton's quiet and unassuming little priest has long since joined the pantheon of great literary detectives. Combining the shrewdness of Miss Marple, the insight of Sherlock Holmes and the intuitive knowledge of the dark side of human nature gained in the confessional, Father Brown is well equipped to uncover the startling truth whenever mystery & murder stalk society.