A book recommended for admirers of G. K. Chesterton: The Holiness of G. K. Chesterton , edited by William Oddie (Gracewing, 2011). It includes essays by the eminent Dominican theologian Aidan Nichols, who writes on Chesterton as a possible Doctor of the Church; equally weighty theologian John Saward, who writes on Chesterton’s sanctity and his “metaphysics of wonder; the Newman scholar Ian Ker on Chesterton’s humor; and the historian Sheridan Gilley on Chesterton as a possible patron saint for journalists. The editor, who is a former editor of the Catholic Herald , contributes an appendix on Chesterton’s “philosemitism.”
The book just arrived and I haven’t been able to read all of it, but the parts I’ve read are very good and say something insightful and fresh, on a subject so written about by so many people that much of what appears is standard and stale. Unfortunately, Gracewing doesn’t have an American distributor, but you can find the book through their website and the usual online sources.
Last year they published Ronald Knox and English Catholicism , which is quite good, especially for those interested in this now neglected writer. They’ve also recently published The Elusive Father Brown: The Life of Msgr. John O’Connor , which I have not seen, as well as a uniform edition of Newman’s works and several works on Newman.
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For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
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