Quotidian | Quotes | G.K. Chesterton

A prolific English writer who considered himself a "rollicking journalist," Chesterton is probably the most neglected writer of the 20th century.

The American Chesterton Society has this to say about him:

Born in London, Chesterton was educated at St. Paul’s, but never went to college. He went to art school. In 1900, he was asked to contribute a few magazine articles on art criticism, and went on to become one of the most prolific writers of all time. He wrote a hundred books, contributions to 200 more, hundreds of poems, including the epic Ballad of the White Horse, five plays, five novels, and some two hundred short stories, including a popular series featuring the priest-detective, Father Brown. In spite of his literary accomplishments, he considered himself primarily a journalist. He wrote over 4000 newspaper essays, including 30 years worth of weekly columns for the Illustrated London News, and 13 years of weekly columns for the Daily News. He also edited his own newspaper, G.K.’s Weekly. (To put it into perspective, four thousand essays is the equivalent of writing an essay a day, every day, for 11 years.

Chesterton's writing inspired C.S. Lewis to convert to Christianity, Michael Collins to lead an Irish independence movement, and Ghandi to practice peaceful resistance in India.