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Chesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy: The Making of GKC, 1874-1908

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G K Chesterton was truly one of the great men of the 20th century. Yet what he believed, and the life he led, stood in starkest contrast to that grim triad--Freud, Nietzsche, and Marx--who promised, at the start of the 20th century, such stupendous change for modern life.

Chesterton entered public life just as the Victorian era was at its end. His family, intellectual and wealthy, had given him a happy childhood. He was a cheerful and brilliant child. He actually penned his first composition at age 5. And, after that accomplishment, it can be said that Gilbert never stopped writing.

Chesterton's pleasant life had only one real shadow. Frances, his wife whom he deeply loved, was never able to conceive. They had both "always longed for children" and Frances even underwent an operation to help the problem. Which was unsuccessful.

Chesterton would become the apostle of common sense, a Roman Catholic who would defend orthodoxy against all comers. But he didn't begin that way. He was raised as an Anglican. In fact, "in the mid-1890s...his anti-clericalism was graphically illustrated in an unfinished short story called 'The Black Friar' (p 149) in which it turns out the friar is really the devil.

It is surprising to read that "the Christian religion...was not a subject which predominates in the journalism of Chesterton's first three years in Fleet Street (1900-2) (p 238). It was a role he came to gradually.

Chesterton eventually became one of the most famous Christian apologists in the world. He and George Bernard Shaw drew large crowds when the two friends debated whether or not God existed.

Chesterton's viewpoint is clearly illustrated in his review of Schopenhauer's
'The Misery of Life', the most famous of the always gloomy Schopenhauer essays. Chesterton thought "most contemptible...his ingratitude for the gift of his own creation...Schopenhauer seemed to believe it would have been better never to have been born" (p 376). Yet Chesterton never stooped to sarcasm or cruelty. He was always to most genial and pleasant of opponents, always ready to give an opponent a chance to state his case fairly, and usually finding humor in every argument.

Chesterton's defense of life and religion would become "a touchstone for his profound and instinctive opposition to what was become...the most irresistible currents...of 20th century culture; it is also a touchstone for his prophetic relevance to that culture" (p 376).

A long, meaty book. Worth reading.

This is a very enjoyable and interesting investigation in the years that led Gilbert Keith Chesterton to embrace Catholic orthodoxy, and become one of, if not the, pre eminent Christian apologists of the 20th century. This held my interest from the beginning, and was well worth the effort. Highly recommended for Chesterton fans.