Thirteen Detectives

by G.K. Chesterton, Marie Smith (Editor)

Collected here are classic mysteries solved by thirteen of G. K. Chesterton’s detectives—including a newly discovered Father Brown story.

Contents: The White Pillars murder — The tremendous adventure of Major Brown — The singular speculation of the house agent — The garden of smoke — The hole in the wall — The bottomless well — The three horsemen of the apocalypse — When doctors agree — The shadow of the shark — The finger of stone — The Donnington affair

Introduction by the editor, Marie Smith.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, British Literature

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic.

He was educated at St. Paul’s, and went to art school at University College London. 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.

Chesterton was equally at ease with literary and social criticism, history, politics, economics, philosophy, and theology.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom found this book for me at a second-hand shop: she gets 5 stars for that one!

It's hard to know exactly how to rate a collection of short stories because there IS variation between the stories in quality and how much I like 'em. Overall, I just find myself enjoying Chesterton. His paradoxical perspectives are so refreshingly logical AND non-linear. I like the way he "makes stuff up"; how he turns stories on their heads and uses prototypes to continually do the unexpected. I'd say he takes this a tad too far in a few stories - some end up being quite disconnected - but it's worth it overall for the stories' quirky creativity and amusing-yet-somehow-challenging quality.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whether the writing was somewhat boring or confusing or if I was just distracted, this book did not suit me as well as other detective stories. I had a hard time keeping my mind on the details. Sure, the stories were short, but that could have been the problem--maybe they needed more length to develop the plots.

[Elizabeth Lozano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable. Some stories better conceived than others, but at least a couple are masterpieces. And even in the least convincing ones, the writing and the ideas are witty and profound. What a master of language Chesterton was ❤️

[Robert Walrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Tremendous Adventure of Major Brown," "The Garden of Smoke," "The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse."

[Karlin Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a while to get through this book. Chesterton is giving what seems his best effort, but this compilation doesn't leave me with a detective long enough to get acquainted.

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

from The Club of Queer Trades (1905):
The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown --3
*The Singular Speculation of the House-Agent --
***
*The Noticeable Conduct of Professor Chadd --

from The Man Who Knew Too Much (1922):
The Bottomless Well --3
The Hole in the Wall --2
The Garden of Smoke --2
***
*The Vanishing Prince --
*The Soul of the Schoolboy --
The Fad of the Fisherman --2

from The Poet and the Lunatics (1929):
The Shadow of the Shark--1
The Finger of Stone--2
***
The House of the Peacock--1
*The Purple Jewel--

from The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond (1937):
When Doctors Agree--
The Three Horsemen of the Apocalypse--2
A Tall Story--

The Donnington Affair--1
The White Pillars Murder--2
The Man Who Shot the Fox--2

[Glen U · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story collection of previously released material by G. K. Chesterton with the exception of "The Dannington Affair" a preciously uncollected Father Brown story. Written at the turn of the twentieth century, these stories show the eloquence and style of the early 1900's writer. All the stories contain a mystery and a philosophical undertone that is indicative of Chesterton's writing. A bit anti-semitic, a bit of a Christian apologist, Chesterton may offend but always entertain. A welcome respite from the sparse and unimaginative writing of some of the modern authors, there is a grace and atmosphere of a more genteel time contained in these stories.

[John Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very mixed bag. Some of the stories are extremely good, some are merely strange. But a new Father Brown! How can you live without it?

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like stories with unexpected twists and turns, but some of these stories are too strange.

[James Swenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun assortment of detective stories, marred by a sudden eruption of antisemitism.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

These always make me feel smarter...