Gilbert: The Man Who Was G.K. Chesterton - Hardcover

Chesterton (1874-1936) crammed his life with work, drawing, editing, debating, and writing mysteries, biographies, histories, essays, and poetry, over 70 volumes in all. He knew many contemporary literary figures such as Shaw, Belloc, and Beerbohm. In a balanced and chronological way, Coren follows this huge, peculiar man, quoting extensively from letters, journals, and his autobiography. In readable prose he chronicles Chesterton's sometimes naive economic and political ideas, occasional bigotry, efforts to maintain his bloated body, and influential conversion to Catholicism. With his "frequent insistence on treading the middle road, even when that position was untenable," Chesterton is a slippery, sometimes annoying, figure. The book is a life, not a literary criticism, and is recommended for large libraries that want another view of this writer.
- John Miller, Normandale Community Coll., Bloom ington, Minn.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), although perhaps best known nowadays for his Father Brown mysteries, which have been adapted for TV, was a prolific poet, novelist and essayist. He deserves another biography, but this affectionate work by a Toronto literary critic is merely adequate. Catholic writers in particular have lauded Chesterton's wit, style and industriousness, while others have castigated his logorrhea, sloppy research, unintending insensitivity and anti-Semitism. Coren tries to deal fairly with the corpulent, sword-stick-carrying author--whom he insists on calling Gilbert--but he fails to convince us of Chesterton's charm or importance. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.