G. K. Chesterton was a journalist and prolific author of poems, novels, short stories, travel books and social criticism. Prior to the twentieth century, Chesterton expressed sympathy for Jews and hostility towards antisemitism. He was agitated by Russian pogroms and felt sympathy for Captain Dreyfus. However, early into the twentieth century, he developed an irrational fear about the presence of Jews in Christian society. He started to argue that it was the Jews who oppressed the Russians rather than the Russians who oppressed the Jews, and he suggested that Dreyfus was not as innocent as the English newspapers claimed. His caricatures of Jews were often that of grotesque creatures masquerading as English people. His fictional and his journalistic works repeated anti-Jewish stereotypes of Jewish greed and usury, bolshevism, cowardice, disloyalty and secrecy. This concise book (125 pages) provides a focused yet easily-accessible examination of these stereotypes and caricatures in Chesterton’s discourse. It also examines Chesterton’s discussion of the so-called “Jewish Problem”, his belief that “every Jew” should be made to wear distinctive clothing, the claim that Chesterton could not have been antisemitic because Israel Zangwill was his friend, and the claim that the Wiener Library defended him from the charge of antisemitism.
G. K. Chesterton's patriotism and growing sympathy for the poor had always vied with his appreciation of Jewish family values and his gratitude to the Jewish people for bringing God to the world. Then, with the rise of Nazism, Chesterton once again became their champion. Chesterton and the Jews peels away post-Holocaust assumptions to reveal his complex feelings for "the Jews"--admiration, fascination, and fear--uncovering neglected layers of meaning in stories hitherto seen as anti-Semitic. No other work has considered this subject in such depth. Drawing upon Jewish publications, research into the Chesterton archives and genealogical records, painstaking analyses of Chesterton's fiction and non-fiction--and including elucidations of the works of Shaw, Wells, Churchill, Belloc, and Cecil Chesterton, among others--Ann Farmer has made a signal contribution to the study of anti-Semitism, racism, eugenics, and Zionism. A question addressed only tangentially in Chesterton biographies is here fully explored. The many Chesterton admirers will see him from an entirely new perspective, one that will be valued also by Jews and Christians interested in the issue of anti-Semitism and the need to learn from the mistakes of the past in order to avoid future tragedies. "One runs the danger of triteness in saying that a book answers a long-felt need. But here is a book that does precisely that. Chesterton's comments about Jews and Judaism have been the source of endless controversies and misunderstandings. Ann Farmer provides the first thorough and well-balanced discussion of the matter."--FR. IAN BOYD
DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "The Jews" by Hilaire Belloc. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
"The sane man who is sane enough to see that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare is sane enough not to worry whether he did or not," quipped G. K. Chesterton. The prolific author — whose works include journalism, poetry, plays, history, biography, apologetics, and detective fiction — took a keen interest in the English literary tradition, particularly in the plays of its greatest dramatist. This original compilation by Chesterton expert Dale Ahlquist introduces the best of the noted critic's short reviews and essays on The Bard.
The Book of Job is among the other Old Testament Books both a philosophical riddle and a historical riddle. Controversy has long raged about which parts of this epic belong to its original scheme and which are interpolations of considerably later date. The doctors disagree, as it is the business of doctors to do; but upon the whole the trend of investigation has always been in the direction of maintaining that the parts interpolated, if any, were the prose prologue and epilogue and possibly the speech of the young man who comes in with an apology at the end. This work contains Chesterton's assumptions and thoughts on this mysterious scripture.
One of G. K. Chesterton’s finest collection of essays, The Well and the Shallows, explore more controversial themes than typically seen in the work of the English writer. Written with Chesterton’s biting wit, he touches on various cultural, social and moral issues from birth control to Catholicism. Chesterton’s perceptive analysis of core issues within modern society remains startling relatable nearly 100 years since its publication. Written shortly after his conversion to Catholicism, he writes with tremendous foresight focusing on subjects like Catholicism, Reformation and Protestantism, and other profound writings on political and social issues based around the central theme of religion. Essays in this volume include: My Six Conversions The Return to Religion The Higher Nihilism The Ascetic At Large Babies and Distribution A Century of Emancipation Trade Terms Shocking the Modernists Sex and Property Why Protestants Prohibit Where is the Paradox? The Well and the Shallows is an insightful collection of essays on some of the most important ideas of the modernist era written by one of the greatest English writers of the 20th century. It is a perfect read for those interested in the work of G. K. Chesterton or any with a broader interest in historical, social analysis from a religious perspective.
Who was Gilbert Keith Chesterton? A rotund man in a cape brandishing a walking stick? Certainly. A twentieth-century writer? Prolifically. A great champion and defender of the Christian Faith? Gallantly. He is known too as the "prince of paradox" and an "apostle of common sense." Chesterton has lately been enjoying a resurgence in popularity. His name appears on blog posts and news articles alike. His name is spoken more often on college campuses, and schools around the United States are being named after him. Who was this engaging, witty, prophetic man? Allow Dale Ahlquist, the president of the American Chesterton Society, to introduce you to him. In a rollicking adventure quite Chestertonian in flavor, Ahlquist captains an expedition of discovery into who this GKC fellow is. He deftly and cleverly explores Chesterton as a man, as a writer, and as a potential saint. Those curious about Chesterton will have their initial questions answered. Those who might be dubious about Chesterton's reputation will be challenged to reconsider. Those who consider Chesterton an old friend will be delighted. All will be engaged by amusing anecdotes, plentiful quotations, and a thoughtful study of the life of G. K. Chesterton.
G. K. Chesterton is remembered as a brilliant creator of nonsense and satirical verse, author of the Father Brown stories and the innovative novel, The Man who was Thursday, and yet today he is not counted among the major English novelists and poets. However, this major new biography argues that Chesterton should be seen as the successor of the great Victorian prose writers, Carlyle, Arnold, Ruskin, and above all Newman. Chesterton's achievement as one of the great English literary critics has not hitherto been fully recognized, perhaps because his best literary criticism is of prose rather than poetry. Ian Ker remedies this neglect, paying particular attention to Chesterton's writings on the Victorians, especially Dickens. As a social and political thinker, Chesterton is contrasted here with contemporary intellectuals like Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells in his championing of democracy and the masses. Pre-eminently a controversialist, as revealed in his prolific journalistic output, he became a formidable apologist for Christianity and Catholicism, as well as a powerful satirist of anti-Catholicism. This full-length life of G. K. Chesterton is the first comprehensive biography of both the man and the writer. It draws on many unpublished letters and papers to evoke Chesterton's joyful humour, his humility and affinity to the common man, and his love of the ordinary things of life.
THE G. K. CHESTERTON COLLECTION [50 BOOKS] G. K. CHESTERTON — 50 Books in One: 22 Non-Fiction, 11 Fiction, 8 Biographies, 4 Poetry, 1 Play, 3 Critiques, 1 Introduction — Over 2.3 Million Words in one E-Book — Includes an Introduction to Gilbert Keith Chesterton — Includes an Active Index to all books and 50 Table of Contents for each book — Includes Illustrations by Claude Monet Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) was an English writer. He wrote on philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox". Whenever possible, Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, and allegories—first carefully turning them inside out. Chesterton is well known for his reasoned apologetics and 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 routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify such a position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism from High Church Anglicanism. George Bernard Shaw, Chesterton's "friendly enemy" said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius". INCLUDED BOOKS: GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON —NON-FICTION— HERETICS ORTHODOXY WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE WORLD WHAT I SAW IN AMERICA THE NEW JERUSALEM IRISH IMPRESSIONS A SHORT HISTORY OF ENGLAND EUGENICS AND OTHER EVILS THE SUPERSTITION OF DIVORCE THE APPETITE OF TYRANNY THE CRIMES OF ENGLAND THE BLATCHFORD CONTROVERSIES THE VICTORIAN AGE IN LITERATURE A MISCELLANY OF MEN ALARMS AND DISCURSIONS ALL THINGS CONSIDERED THE DEFENDANT TREMENDOUS TRIFLES UTOPIA OF USURERS AND OTHER ESSAYS THE USES OF DIVERSITY ESSAYS BY CHESTERTON A CHESTERTON CALENDAR —FICTION— THE INNOCENCE OF FATHER BROWN THE WISDOM OF FATHER BROWN THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH THE NAPOLEON OF NOTTING HILL THE FLYING INN MANALIVE THE BALL AND THE CROSS THE CLUB OF QUEER TRADES THE TREES OF PRIDE OTHER STORIES —BIOGRAPHY— VARIED TYPES CHARLES DICKENS APPRECIATIONS AND CRITICISMS OF THE WORKS OF CHARLES DICKENS GEORGE BERNARD SHAW ROBERT BROWNING WILLIAM BLAKE G.F. WATTS BIOGRAPHIES BY CHESTERTON —POETRY— THE BALLAD OF THE WHITE HORSE THE BALLAD OF SAINT BARBARA THE WILD KNIGHT AND OTHER POEMS GREYBEARDS AT PLAY —PLAYS— MAGIC —CRITIQUES— GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON by Cecil Chesterton GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON by Patrick Braybrooke OTHER G. K. CHESTERTON CRITIQUES PUBLISHER: CATHOLIC WAY PUBLISHING
