G.K. Chesterton, born 29 May 1874-died 14 June, 1936

I remember being mesmerized by Chesterton’s Man Who Was Thursday when I first read it, nearly 35 years ago! I was startled to discover, near the end of the book, when Thursday — who has been searching for Sunday for most of the book — finally meets Sunday and the description of Sunday — in my mind’s eye — revealed Fr. Aidan Kavanagh, my favorite professor at the Yale Divinity School! I can still quote from memory several paragraphs from the chapter titled “The Ethics of Elfland” in his book, Orthodoxy.

Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown and for his reasoned apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognized the universal appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. Chesterton, as a political thinker, cast aspersions on both Progressivism and Conservatism, saying, “The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.”

Chesterton usually wore a cape and a crumpled hat, with a swordstick in hand, and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. He had a tendency to forget where he was supposed to be going and miss the train that was supposed to take him there. It is reported that on several occasions he sent a telegram to his wife Frances from some distant (and incorrect) location, writing such things as “Am in Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?” to which she would reply, “Home”. Because of these instances of absent-mindedness and of Chesterton being extremely clumsy as a child, there has been speculation that Chesterton had undiagnosed developmental coordination disorder.