A Short History of England [Hardcover]

G. K. Chesterton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2007

It will be very reasonably asked why I should consent, though upon a sort of challenge, to write even a popular essay in English history, who make no pretence to particular scholarship and am merely a member of the public. The answer is that I know just enough to know one thing: that a history from the standpoint of a member of the public has not been written. What we call the popular histories should rather be called the anti-popular histories. They are all, nearly without exception, written against the people; and in them the populace is either ignored or elaborately proved to have been wrong. It is true that Green called his book "A Short History of the English People"; but he seems to have thought it too short for the people to be properly mentioned. For instance, he calls one very large part of his story "Puritan England." But England never was Puritan. It would have been almost as unfair to call the rise of Henry of Navarre "Puritan France." And some of our extreme Whig historians would have been pretty nearly capable of calling the campaign of Wexford and Drogheda "Puritan Ireland."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, play writing, journalism, public lecturing and debating, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy and detective fiction. Chesterton has been called the "prince of paradox". Time magazine, in a review of a biography of Chesterton, observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories-first carefully turning them inside out." For example, Chesterton wrote "Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it." 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 liberalism 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 with Catholicism more and more, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism. George Bernard Shaw, Chesterton's "friendly enemy" according to Time, said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius". --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: 1st World Library - Literary Society (June 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421844575
• ISBN-13: 978-1421844572
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,663,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wit and Wisdom of the Apostle of Common Sense, April 6, 2007

By 

Michael Tozer (San Antonio, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Short History of England (Paperback)

Gilbert Keith Chesterton is certainly one of the most entertaining, and important, authors in the English language. This particular volume covers quickly, yet completely, the history of England from early Roman times to the time of the Great War, World War I. Chesterton is a man, I suspect, who would have been very hard to dislike. Though brilliant, he always approached his many opponents with a keen sense of fun and empathy. But he is certainly a writer who, though sometimes challenging, is always enjoyable.

This wonderful, short, and thoroughly readable book can really be seen as a layman's philosophical representation of the great arc of English history. To grasp Chesterton's wit and wisdom entirely, it is probably important to have at least a nodding familiarity with English history before reading the book. But, so armed, the reader will be delighted with G.K.'s retelling of the great events of England, together with his insightful commentary relative to their import.

Particularly poignant is Chesterton's rendering of the martydom of Saint Joan of Arc. He avers that, at one time or another, perhaps all British soldiers would have traded places with the common British infantryman who broke his spear to make a cross for the dying Saint. This section alone is worth the price of the entire book.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sharp and Insightful, February 5, 2010

By 

Kevin E. Martin "Cathedral Dean" (Dallas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Short History of England [Illustrated] (Kindle Edition)

If you love Chesterton, this work is full of the kind of cutting humor and cultural insight that is his best. The title is a bit misleading in the sense that this is more a "collection of essays on aspects of English History." It should also be seen as a critique of other popular histories of his day. However, he remains the best Christian apologist in the modern era and of the modern era.