Priestly ordination. A month has passed since the ordination of Father Alexy Merkishin to the priesthood

1874, May 29- the family of a wealthy real estate merchant Edward Chesterton and his wife Mary-Louise had a second child - a son named Gilbert Keith. The Chestertons' eldest child, daughter Beatrice, died in 1876; in 1879, their youngest son, Cecil, was born.

1881-1886 - studies at a preparatory school.

1887 - enters London's St Pauls School. Writes poetry, and later stories. Since 1890 he has headed the Debate Club. For a poem about the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier receives the school's Milton Prize.

1893-1895 — attends lectures at the University of London and studies painting at the Slade School.

1895-1901 — works as an editor in various publishing houses. He writes numerous articles and essays (“Daily Telegraph”, “Speaker”, etc.), which are increasingly successful, bring him scandalous fame (in particular, as an ardent opponent of the Anglo-Boer War) and essentially make a revolution in English journalism.

1896, autumn— acquaintance with Francis Blog; in the summer of 1898, young people explain themselves mutual feelings, but the wedding is postponed and will take place only in the summer of 1901.

1900 — acquaintance with a Catholic writer, poet and public figure Hilaire Belloc, which turned into a lifelong friendship.

1901 — collections of his newspaper essays are published one after another: “The Defender” and “In Defense of the Detective Story.”

1904 - Chesterton's first novel, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, is published, written in a few months with an advance of 20 pounds.

1906 - a biography of Charles Dickens, Chesterton's most famous work on literature, is published. Others include: Robert Browning (1903), George Bernard Shaw (1909), William Blake (1910), The Victorian age in literature , 1913), “Robert Louis Stevenson” (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1927).

1908 - second novel: The Man who was Thursday.

1908 - "Orthodoxy", Chesterton's first confession of faith.

1909 - Having improved their financial affairs, the Chestertons buy a house with a garden in the small town of Beaconsfield.

1910 — the first edition of the novel “The Ball and the Cross”.

1911 - the first collection of stories about the priest-detective “The Innocence of Father Brown”. The prototype of the title character was catholic priest John O'Connor, whom Chesterton met in the summer of 1904. The first collection will be followed by “The wisdom of father Brown” (1914), “The incredulity of father Brown” (1926), “The secret of father Brown” (1927), “ The scandalous incident with Father Brown" (The scandal of father Brown, 1935), etc.

1911 - polemic with Bernard Shaw, the reason for which was Shaw's lecture “The Future of Religion.” Heated debates between the two writer friends would continue until 1927 - on the radio, in personal dialogues and public showdowns.

1912 - Chesterton's most famous and most cheerful novel, Manalive, is published.

1913, January-June- scandalous litigation Cecil Chesterton with the Marconi Company. The Chesterton brothers publish the Witness newspaper, where the Marconi Affair is covered. After the death of his brother, the newspaper will pass to Gilbert, who will publish it for many years - contrary to his character and to the detriment of his health.

1914 - since the beginning of the World War - active propaganda journalism for the War Propaganda Bureau (WPB), including the books “The Appetite of Tyranny”, “The barbarism in Berlin” and “Crimes of England” "(The crimes of England).

1914-1915 - Chesterton's strange disease. From Christmas to Easter he lies unconscious; doctors can neither help nor even explain his condition.

1918 — Cecil Chesterton dies in a French military hospital.

1918 - travel around Ireland.

1919 - pilgrimage to Palestine, which is described in the book “ New Jerusalem"(The new Jerusalem).

1920 - first trip to America.

1922 - Chesterton converts to Catholicism; The ceremony is performed by Father John OConnor. Chesterton would later write books about the two most important, from his point of view, Catholic saints: “St. Francis of Assisi” (St. Francis of Assisi, 1923) and “St. Thomas Aquinas" (St. Thomas Aquinas, 1933).

1922 — a collection of short stories, “The Man who knew too much,” is published.

1927 - trip to Poland.

1929 - a trip to Mussolini's Italy and a visit to the Vatican, where Chesterton receives a high papal order.

1930-1931 - second trip to America. Chesterton's popularity overseas is enormous and surprises him: “In America, I gave no less than ninety lectures to people who had done nothing wrong to me.”

1930 — stops writing with his own hand and begins to dictate, “often falling asleep while doing so.”

1936, May- Pilgrimage to Lourdes. After the trip, the doctor discovers Chesterton has heart disease.

1936, June 14- Died at his home in Beaconsfield. The funeral mass was celebrated twice: one at home, the other in Westminster. Pope Pius XI sends his condolences, calling Chesterton "defender of the faith."

Gilbert Keith Chesterton. CHESTERTON (Chesterton) Gilbert Keith (1874 1936), English writer, thinker. In stories with entertaining intrigue, a whimsical, romantically transformed life, where relationships, sanctified by centuries-old traditions, turn out to be... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Chesterton) (1874 1936), English writer, religious thinker. One of the largest representatives of detective literature. In the philosophical novel “The Ball and the Cross” (1909), stories with entertaining intrigue (collections about the detective priest Brown, ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Chesterton Gilbert Keith (29.5.1874, London - 14.6.1936, Beaconsfield), English writer and thinker. One of the largest representatives of detective literature. Since 1900 he constantly collaborated in liberal newspapers and magazines... Big Soviet encyclopedia

- (Chesterton, Gilbert Keith) GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON (1874 1936), English writer. Born 29 May 1874 in London. After graduating from St. Paul's School in 1891, he studied painting at the Slade Art School at University College. In 1890 he released... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

CHESTERTON Gilbert Keith- CHESTERTON Gilbert Keith (18741936), English writer. Rum. “Napoleon of Notting Hill” (1904, p. “Napoleon of the Suburbs”, 1925), “The Club of Amazing Crafts” (1905, p. 1928), “The Man Who Was Thursday” (1908, p.... ... Literary encyclopedic dictionary

Gilbert Keith Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton Date of birth: May 29, 1874 Place of birth: London, UK Date of death: July 14, 1936 Place of death: Beaconsfield, UK ... Wikipedia

- (1874 1936) English writer. One of the largest representatives of detective literature. Stories (including The Ignorance of Father Brown, 1911, The Incredulity of Father Brown, 1926), novels (Napoleon of Nottinghill, 1904; The Man Who Was... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- ... Wikipedia

Chesterton, Gilbert Keith Gilbert Keith Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton Date of birth: May 29, 1874 ... Wikipedia

Whale is an animal from the order Cetacea. Contents 1 Miscellaneous 2 Ships and ships 3 Movies 4 People ... Wikipedia

Books

  • Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Collected Works in One Book, Gilbert Keith Chesterton. In this collection you will find such essays as: “The Ignorance of Father Brown,” “The Wisdom of Father Brown,” “The Incredulity of Father Brown,” and others. ISBN:978-5-9910-2656-7,…
  • Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Small collected works, Chesterton G.. Gilbert Keith Chesterton is a recognized classic of English literature, one of the most brilliant writers of the first half of the 20th century. His novels and numerous essays have become classics, but love...

About the book:

Time of writing:1911–1935.

Natalia Trauberg, an expert and translator of Chesterton, writes about the stories this way:“With all my love for Lewis, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams, I am forced to admit that Chesterton confronts the stereotypes of “this world” more sharply and clearly than all of them. It is no coincidence that he is compared to both holy fools and blessed ones in the gospel sense of the word. One of his usual inconsistencies with the “world” is a combination of properties that are considered incompatible and even opposite. Actually, the entire Brownian cycle is based on a combination of innocence and wisdom.”

The big difference between Chesterton's stories and classic detective stories is that main character does not always strive to punish the culprit - often everything ends with a lesson or confession.

Father Brown first appears in the story "The Sapphire Cross" and becomes the hero of 51 stories. They are combined into five collections:

  • "The Ignorance of Father Brown"
  • "The Wisdom of Father Brown"
  • "The Mistrust of Father Brown"
  • "The Mystery of Father Brown"
  • "The Scandalous Incident of Father Brown"

The prototype of Father Brown was the priest John O'Connor. He was a friend of Gilbert Chesterton and played a key role in the writer's conversion to Catholicism.

Father O'Connor

Quotes:

“But she’s much worse than a murderer. -Who is worse than a murderer? “Selfish,” said Father Brown. “She’s one of those people who looks in the mirror before looking out the window, and that’s the worst thing a person can do.”

“A man will never be good until he understands how bad he is or how bad he could become; until he realizes how little right he has to grin and talk about “criminals” as if they were monkeys somewhere in a distant forest; until he stops deceiving himself so vilely, chattering so stupidly about the “inferior type” and the “vicious skull”; until he squeezes out of his soul the last drop of the oil of the Pharisees; while he hopes to drive the criminal and cover him with a net, like an insect.”

“She always behaved impeccably. In your theater everyone told me how subtle and delicate she is and how spiritually superior she is to poor Mandeville. But all these subtleties and delicacies boiled down in the end to the fact that she was a lady and he was not a gentleman. You know, I’m not entirely sure that people are allowed into heaven on this basis.”

Screen adaptations:

1954 - the film "Father Brown" directed by Robert Hamer

1974 - the only season of the series “Tales of Father Brown”

2013 - the series “Father Brown” starring Mark Williams was launched

A recent film adaptation of Chesterton's stories - the series "Father Brown" (UK, 2013)

About the author:

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) - English writer and journalist, Christian thinker.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born on May 29, 1874 in London. He received his primary education at St. Peter's School. To become an illustrator, he studied at an art school, but did not graduate.

In 1901, Chesterton married Frances Blog, with whom he lived all his life.

In his youth he became interested in the occult, but then became disillusioned with this activity, converted to Christianity and became a Catholic.

In addition to his writing, Chesterton wrote a column for the English newspaper The Illustrated London News for 30 years.

Chesterton wrote about 80 books. He has written several hundred poems, 200 short stories, 4,000 essays, several plays, the novels “The Man Who Was Thursday”, “The Ball and the Cross”, “The Flying Tavern” and others, as well as two treatises on Thomas Aquinas and Francis of Assisi - saints venerated by the Catholic Church.

Chesterton received honorary degrees from the Universities of Edinburgh, Dublin and Notre Dame. In 1934 he became a Knight of the Order of St. George, II degree.

The writer died on June 14, 1936 at his home in Beaconsfield (England), where he lived with his wife and adopted daughter. For his zealous attitude towards Christianity, which left a deep imprint on his life and work, Chesterton began to be called an apologist (defender) of the faith.