Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born on May 29, 1874 to Edward and Marie-Louise Chesterton at Campden Hill, in London. He was born into a middle class family, his father worked for a firm of estate agents in Kensington. Chesterton, who went on to become one of the most well known and widely read authors of the 20th century was unable to read until he was past eight years of age.
Chesterton was educated at St. Paul’s school and later at the Slade School of art, which he attended from 1893 to 1896. Chesterton was keen on a career as an illustrator. Chesterton displayed his leanings towards writing, when while at school, he started a magazine, “The Debater”. He received a fillip to his writing career when in 1900, he was asked to write on art criticism, for a magazine.
In the same year, his first collection of poems, “Greybeards at Play” was published. Chesterton worked for the publishers Redway from 1896 to 1902. His earlier works were published in publications such as Illustrated London News, Daily News, and Eye Witness.
Chesterton married Frances Blogg in 1901; his marriage helped him to overcome a crisis of faith into which he was slipping. Chesterton suffered a bout of depression in 1893, had dabbled in diabolism, and was attracted to the Ouija board.
Chesterton wrote two literary biographies, “Robert Browning” and “Charles Dickens”, in 1903 and 1906, respectively. He wrote his first novel, “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” in 1904.
Chesterton settled in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1909. His marriage did not produce any children. From 1913 to 1914, Chesterton wrote for the “Daily Herald”. Chesterton’s brother, Cecil, ran a weekly journal, “The New Witness”, after his death in World War I, Chesterton edited the paper till his death. He renamed in “G.K’s Weekly”.
After the end of World War I, Chesterton started the “Distributist Movement” with his friend, the writer Hilaire Belloc. The movement aimed at providing a viable option to both capitalism and socialism, Chesterton believed that both these ideologies ultimately led to the majority being deprived of wealth. He advocated the idea of the distribution of private property throughout society. He went on to become the President of the Distributist League.
Chesterton’s contemporary writers included H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw. Chesterton’s sympathies were with the Boers during the Boer war. He was a much sought after lecturer, and often lectured on the radio. Chesterton had a keen understanding of world events; he prophesied the advent and eventual downfall of Nazism as well as Communism. His debates with George Bernard Shaw on the radio were eagerly awaited by the public.
Chesterton’s most famous novel is “The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare”. It was published in 1907. The book dealt with the ideal of righteousness permeating our lives. The book makes several allegorical references to Christian theology and lays bare the decadence in turn-of-the-century London.
Chesterton influenced several people through his writings, His book “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” led George Orwell to write his classic novel, “1984″, in which he has made several veiled references to “The Napoleon of Notting Hill”. M.K. Gandhi was inspired by an essay written by Chesterton in “Illustrated London News” to take up the cause of Indian independence form the British.
The detective, Father Brown is easily Chesterton’s most recognized character. Father Brown made his first appearance in “The Blue Cross”. The character gained fame with “The Innocence of Father Brown”, which was published in 1911 and was a collection of twelve short stories. The well-known mystery writer H.R.F Keating included this book in his list of the hundred best crime and mystery books of all time.
Chesterton modeled Father Brown on his friend father John O’ Connor. Chesterton, himself, was the model for John Dickinson Carr’s detective—Dr. Gideon Fell. Father Brown has an unassuming demeanor and is a gentle person but at the same time is possessed of a remarkable intelligence that helps him identify the wrongdoers. Father Brown appeared in fifty short stories.
Chesterton’s prose contained aphorisms and paradoxical statements such as “The simplification of something is always sensational”. His writing style earned him the sobriquet, “The prince of paradox”. Chesterton converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1922. Chesterton also wrote the biography of St. Francis D’ Assisi. He has discussed his conversion to Roman Catholicism in his collection of essays, “The Thing” published in 1929.
Chesterton is considered one of the most prolific writers of all time, he also wrote on a wide range of subjects. His poem ‘Lepanto” published in 1911 is considered to be a fine example of ballad. He wrote close to four thousand essays on a variety of subjects, columns for newspapers, two hundred short stories, historical studies, plays, poems, and biographies of authors such as Charles Dickens, William Blake, Geoffrey Chaucer etc.
An interesting facet of his personality was his absentmindedness and he relied heavily on his wife to keep track of things for him. Often, he would telegram his wife to enquire if he indeed he was where he ought to be at that point of time. In his autobiography, Chesterton mentions that he and George Bernard Shaw even shot for a film in which they played cowboys; the film however, was never released.
Chesterton was a heavily built man; he was well over six feet in height and weighed close to 300 pounds. Upon his death on June 14, 1936, his coffin had to be lowered from the balcony, as it was too big to be brought down by the staircase. Chesterton was made Knight Commander with Star, Order of St. Gregory the Great, in 1934. Chesterton was buried at Beaconsfield, in the Roman Catholic Cemetery.
