He was a big man, standing 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds. To that mountainous physique, add his characteristic appearance in public—a pince-nez, capes and great coats, papers jutting from his pockets, a walking stick, and cigar—and you had a subject that caricaturists could, and did, love. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)…
Nobility, Valor, and a Great King: England’s King Alfred: G.K. Chesterton’s ‘The Ballad of the White Horse’
Will Durant’s Essay ‘Freedom of Worship’: A Story About a Little Church
“Each according to the dictates of his own conscience.” This phrase, attributed to George Washington, illuminates the top of Norman Rockwell’s painting “Freedom of Worship,” which shows eight different people praying. Each individual shows his own form of worship, whether it is pensive, thankful, patient, sad, petitioning, or filled with wonder. Some people look upwards,…
Something for Summer Reading: ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ by Anthony Hope
This “spirited and gallant little book,” as Robert Louis Stevenson called it, is gloriously upbeat, unafraid to take a positive, unapologetic stance on the side of virtue and valor. The best summer books remind people of the warm spirit of optimism that makes life refreshing and exciting. “The Prisoner of Zenda,” written in 1894 by…
‘An Angel in Disguise’: Strength Disguised as Weakness
When we think of heroes, we think of strong, brave men like Alexander the Great or Charlemagne. Such men overcome weakness and vice and learn self-control. They face trials that test their worth and overcome the desolation and misery of evil. Yet, in his short story “An Angel in Disguise,” T.S. Arthur proves that such…
The Goodness and Greatness of G.K. Chesterton
Though the England of his time was famous for its eccentrics, one man in particular captured the attention of satirists and the hearts and smiles of the men and women of that island nation. Writer G.K. Chesterton (1874–1936) was a giant of a man for his time, standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing…
The Last Bard: G.K. Chesterton
A “bard,” goes the standard definition, is a “declaimer of heroic or epic verse.” Once a tradition in every culture (think Homer), the bard has all but disappeared. The last to write in English was a rotund, bespectacled Londoner, widely known in his time and deserving of greater recognition today. G.K. Chesterton (1874–1936) enjoyed a…
-
Recent Posts
-
Archives
- May 2025
- April 2025
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- September 2013
- July 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- December 1
-
Meta