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The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton Volume 01: Heretics; Orthodoxy; The Blatchford Controversies
Book by Chesterton, G. K.
395 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1986
70 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
G.K. Chesterton
4,734 books5,845 followersGilbert 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 20, 2019
Wit and wisdom.
January 22, 2026
The Greatest Book Ever Written.
I generally have prided myself on only having one book that I called the greatest ever written, that being Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. However, in light of reading G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, I do believe that I have a new opinion on the greatest book ever written.
Tolkien himself, as well as others such as C.S Lewis were inspired by Chesterton, and it is easy to see why. He blends history, philosophy, whimsy and almost every branch of the humanities into this magnum opus work that is truly beyond brilliant. Readers may find themselves lost in Chesterton's rabbit trails into random topics and people from a hundred years ago, but he expertly guides it all back together into a seamless work.
The book Orthodoxy (as well as Heretics) is a monumental work that defends the Christian walk through the simple things of life, primarily Joy. This has been said many a time, but I will say it again, G.K Chesterton's work is more true now than it was when it was written. Orthodoxy can teach you to be joyful, and contemplative, to be a philosopher who isn't lost in philosophy, a theologian not lost in theology, and many many more things.
I cannot recommend this book enough, especially the edition that I own, being from the Ignatius Press "Collected Works" series. The binding is strong, a sewn paperback with comfortable typset, helpful notes, and a good feel to it in the hands.
I generally have prided myself on only having one book that I called the greatest ever written, that being Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings. However, in light of reading G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy, I do believe that I have a new opinion on the greatest book ever written.
Tolkien himself, as well as others such as C.S Lewis were inspired by Chesterton, and it is easy to see why. He blends history, philosophy, whimsy and almost every branch of the humanities into this magnum opus work that is truly beyond brilliant. Readers may find themselves lost in Chesterton's rabbit trails into random topics and people from a hundred years ago, but he expertly guides it all back together into a seamless work.
The book Orthodoxy (as well as Heretics) is a monumental work that defends the Christian walk through the simple things of life, primarily Joy. This has been said many a time, but I will say it again, G.K Chesterton's work is more true now than it was when it was written. Orthodoxy can teach you to be joyful, and contemplative, to be a philosopher who isn't lost in philosophy, a theologian not lost in theology, and many many more things.
I cannot recommend this book enough, especially the edition that I own, being from the Ignatius Press "Collected Works" series. The binding is strong, a sewn paperback with comfortable typset, helpful notes, and a good feel to it in the hands.
April 22, 2024
To try and describe Chesterton’s amazing books here, is it become a madman. He writes in a way that’s not just anti-rational, but more emotional defense of his thoughts.
If anything, Chesterton offers the most sobering escape from the rational mind. He forces his readers to pause and ask, what are you even rationalizing for? He does it way better than any Dostoevsky novel in that regard, but he’s also so astute, and sane, to be able to dissect it in a cheerfully apocalyptic way. He’s having more fun than even Aloysha or any Dostoevsky character.
From a historical view, writing at the start of the 20th century and before world war I, he offers the widest and most accurate survey of all of western civilizations thoughts of the modernity project. More than that, he shows them all to be the weak man behind the current his contemporaries turn out to be.
It turns out that the rationalist mindset, dressed up in all it’s different outfits, can do nothing more than put on a shallow show. Outside of this, I can’t summarize more: it truly takes a ringmaster to show how silly these clowns are and Chesterton willingly becomes a servant to us in that regard.
If anything, Chesterton offers the most sobering escape from the rational mind. He forces his readers to pause and ask, what are you even rationalizing for? He does it way better than any Dostoevsky novel in that regard, but he’s also so astute, and sane, to be able to dissect it in a cheerfully apocalyptic way. He’s having more fun than even Aloysha or any Dostoevsky character.
From a historical view, writing at the start of the 20th century and before world war I, he offers the widest and most accurate survey of all of western civilizations thoughts of the modernity project. More than that, he shows them all to be the weak man behind the current his contemporaries turn out to be.
It turns out that the rationalist mindset, dressed up in all it’s different outfits, can do nothing more than put on a shallow show. Outside of this, I can’t summarize more: it truly takes a ringmaster to show how silly these clowns are and Chesterton willingly becomes a servant to us in that regard.
December 6, 2014
Heretics:
The first book in this collection was a bit of a slog. Each chapter is focused on a particular 'heretic' from Chesterton's day. Unfortunately, though naturally, he doesn't dedicate much time explaining their point of view before attacking it. Reading this book felt a lot like listening to one half of a telephone conversation. This edition has a few footnotes to try to remedy this, but they are not significant enough to fully explain what Chesterton is arguing against.
I wasn't very convinced by his arguments in this book. Chesterton is very good at wittily stating a position. He is much less good at defending it, but instead seems to think that his ideas should be self-evident once he states them in a clever enough manner. 3/5 stars.
Orthodoxy:
This book was much better, partly because he didn't rely so much on rebutting arguments that I'm not familiar with. He also spent more effort backing up his positions. He is fairly convincing in this book.
The only thing that feels off is that he's good at explaining why he thinks that Orthodoxy is the most sane position, but less good about explaining why that matters. In other words, he explains why Christianity is more satisfying to him, but not why it's more true.
I shouldn't mark him off for this, because this is what he set out to do - write an explanation of what he believes and why he believes it, not to explain why it's correct. But many people that I've spoken to play this book up like it's a great apology of Christianity, and that's not the impression I got from it. 4/5 stars.
The Blatchford Controversies:
I enjoyed these letters the most. He explains some of his best and important ideas in Orthodoxy here with more clarity. After reading these, I had a better idea of what Chesterton was trying to do in Orthodoxy. 5/5 stars
Overall:
I think it's a little odd that The Blatchford Controversies were last, when chronologically they were first. I also wonder if Orthodoxy might have been more enjoyable if I had read The Controversies first and had it in mind.
The introductions were very helpful in explaining the context of the essays, and the footnotes at least tried to explain what Chesterton was referring to.
Chesterton himself was a very clever man with strong convictions and a different perspective of the world. I'm glad I read this collection. 4/5 stars.
The first book in this collection was a bit of a slog. Each chapter is focused on a particular 'heretic' from Chesterton's day. Unfortunately, though naturally, he doesn't dedicate much time explaining their point of view before attacking it. Reading this book felt a lot like listening to one half of a telephone conversation. This edition has a few footnotes to try to remedy this, but they are not significant enough to fully explain what Chesterton is arguing against.
I wasn't very convinced by his arguments in this book. Chesterton is very good at wittily stating a position. He is much less good at defending it, but instead seems to think that his ideas should be self-evident once he states them in a clever enough manner. 3/5 stars.
Orthodoxy:
This book was much better, partly because he didn't rely so much on rebutting arguments that I'm not familiar with. He also spent more effort backing up his positions. He is fairly convincing in this book.
The only thing that feels off is that he's good at explaining why he thinks that Orthodoxy is the most sane position, but less good about explaining why that matters. In other words, he explains why Christianity is more satisfying to him, but not why it's more true.
I shouldn't mark him off for this, because this is what he set out to do - write an explanation of what he believes and why he believes it, not to explain why it's correct. But many people that I've spoken to play this book up like it's a great apology of Christianity, and that's not the impression I got from it. 4/5 stars.
The Blatchford Controversies:
I enjoyed these letters the most. He explains some of his best and important ideas in Orthodoxy here with more clarity. After reading these, I had a better idea of what Chesterton was trying to do in Orthodoxy. 5/5 stars
Overall:
I think it's a little odd that The Blatchford Controversies were last, when chronologically they were first. I also wonder if Orthodoxy might have been more enjoyable if I had read The Controversies first and had it in mind.
The introductions were very helpful in explaining the context of the essays, and the footnotes at least tried to explain what Chesterton was referring to.
Chesterton himself was a very clever man with strong convictions and a different perspective of the world. I'm glad I read this collection. 4/5 stars.
October 6, 2016
This is a life book for me.
It's dense. I had to take it in short sittings. The constant use of paradox, which was at first charming, grew trying. My modern, feminist sensibilities felt a bit suffocated from the onslaught of the particular pronoun "he".
Nevertheless, it was incredible. I have long felt that Christian apologetic texts have seriously lacked something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what. Now I know. Chesterton doesn't do battle using science and rationality to try to prove his religious views to be reasonable. Instead, he takes science and rationality off their pedestal, taking a more psychological angle: Christianity is NECESSARY. It's not necessary in the sense of "You are a sinner and must be saved," so much as in the sense of "Look, this is the only way that life makes sense," sort of way.
He might not convince any die-hard rationalists or imperialists with stunning new evidences to prove God, but he sure gives a breath of fresh air to those unsatisfied with that paradigm. There is a way to be quite reasonable in your convictions without having everything sorted out into a perfect chain of logic.
Chesterton is a little bit of sanity in a crazy world.
It's dense. I had to take it in short sittings. The constant use of paradox, which was at first charming, grew trying. My modern, feminist sensibilities felt a bit suffocated from the onslaught of the particular pronoun "he".
Nevertheless, it was incredible. I have long felt that Christian apologetic texts have seriously lacked something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what. Now I know. Chesterton doesn't do battle using science and rationality to try to prove his religious views to be reasonable. Instead, he takes science and rationality off their pedestal, taking a more psychological angle: Christianity is NECESSARY. It's not necessary in the sense of "You are a sinner and must be saved," so much as in the sense of "Look, this is the only way that life makes sense," sort of way.
He might not convince any die-hard rationalists or imperialists with stunning new evidences to prove God, but he sure gives a breath of fresh air to those unsatisfied with that paradigm. There is a way to be quite reasonable in your convictions without having everything sorted out into a perfect chain of logic.
Chesterton is a little bit of sanity in a crazy world.
April 26, 2015
This is a fantastic volume, combining those two essential Chesterton works, Heretics and Orthodoxy, in addition to the brief but stimulating Blatchford Controversies. This volume is a must-have for any GKC student!
January 7, 2025
Orthodoxy Quotes
I.
III. The Suicide of Thought
"Thinking means connecting things, and stops if they cannot be connected. It need hardly be said that this scepticism forbidding thought necessarily forbids speech; a man cannot open his mouth without contradicting it. Thus when Mr. Wells says (as he did somewhere), "All chairs are quite different," he utters not merely a misstatement, but a contradiction in terms. If all chairs were quite different, you could not call them "all chairs."
IV. The Ethics of Elfland
"I left the fairy tales lying on the floor of the nursery, and I have not found any books so sensible since."
VI. The Paradoxes of Christianity
“Last and most important, it is exactly this which explains what is so inexplicable to all the modern critics of the history of Christianity. I mean the monstrous wars about small points of theology, the earthquakes of emotion about a gesture or a word. It was only a matter of an inch; but an inch is everything when you are balancing. ... [I]f some small mistake were made in doctrine, huge blunders might be made in human happiness. A sentence phrased wrong about the nature of symbolism would have broken all the best statues in Europe. A slip in the definitions might stop all the dances; might wither all the Christmas trees or break all the Easter eggs. Doctrines had to be defined within strict limits, even in order that man might enjoy general human liberties. The Church had to be careful, if only that the world might be careless.”
I.
III. The Suicide of Thought
"Thinking means connecting things, and stops if they cannot be connected. It need hardly be said that this scepticism forbidding thought necessarily forbids speech; a man cannot open his mouth without contradicting it. Thus when Mr. Wells says (as he did somewhere), "All chairs are quite different," he utters not merely a misstatement, but a contradiction in terms. If all chairs were quite different, you could not call them "all chairs."
IV. The Ethics of Elfland
"I left the fairy tales lying on the floor of the nursery, and I have not found any books so sensible since."
VI. The Paradoxes of Christianity
“Last and most important, it is exactly this which explains what is so inexplicable to all the modern critics of the history of Christianity. I mean the monstrous wars about small points of theology, the earthquakes of emotion about a gesture or a word. It was only a matter of an inch; but an inch is everything when you are balancing. ... [I]f some small mistake were made in doctrine, huge blunders might be made in human happiness. A sentence phrased wrong about the nature of symbolism would have broken all the best statues in Europe. A slip in the definitions might stop all the dances; might wither all the Christmas trees or break all the Easter eggs. Doctrines had to be defined within strict limits, even in order that man might enjoy general human liberties. The Church had to be careful, if only that the world might be careless.”
November 1, 2018
Orthodoxy is a masterpiece, Heretics is enjoyable. Despite my lack of reading experience, once one gets in the groove of Chesterton, there are few writers more enjoyable to read. Even when what he says is only partially understood or is something unconvincing, his humor and goodnatured-ness pretty much always shines through. He will remain as one of my favorite writers.
August 13, 2024
Great combination for learning about Chesterton's apologetic thought (although this is not strictly apology). Although directed largely at Blatchford a.k.a. Numquam, Chesterton points out the shortcomings in the though of 19th-century rationalists (Heretics) and rationalism in general. Lots and lots of precursors of C.S. Lewis's approaches to apology.
January 5, 2019
Chesterton reminds us that truly, there is "nothing new under the sun." So-called, 'progressive' ideas have not changed much in the last century, and Chesterton makes quick work of their incoherent secularism, aptly dismissing their nonsensical ideas with wit, irony and his favorite: paradox.
March 10, 2021
Quite sure Heidegger, Foucault and the like would have been embarrassed about their own thoughts had they read Chesterton. Expect to suffer no fools when you are finished with the last page. Highly recommended.
February 6, 2020
The arguments for Christianity are very strong in this collected works. I think Chesterton is one of the great Christian minds of modern era.
May 1, 2020
Have not read it in its entirety. Chesterton (like Lewis) is unmatched
March 8, 2015
Rated PG--I don't remember anything offensive here unless you are offended by theology and apologetics, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger than 10 or so because it is so deep and thoughtful.
Everything in this book is so brilliant. Well, G.K. Chesterton in general is brilliant, so I guess I'm not surprised that this is no exception. For some reason, I didn't love Heretics overmuch (although the premise is great--Chesterton is picking apart the theological standpoints of his contemporaries), but Orthodoxy is beyond compare and The Blatchford Controversies is a set of four succinct papers about orthodoxy and heresy.
By far, my favorite section of this volume is Orthodoxy, and I would rate this entire volume five stars for Orthodoxy alone, even if the other volumes were terrible (which they are not). But the brilliance of is that Chesterton can address extraordinarily deep concepts in very approachable and relatable ways and within a fairly short space (about the length of a longish essay). My favorite chapter, for example, is "The Ethics of Fairyland," probably because I love fairy tales and Chesterton takes the ethics of fairyland farther than I could have dreamed--even when talking only about glass in fairy tales. Ah, I am finding myself unable to write a proper review about this book--so go read it, starting with Orthodoxy. You won't be sorry you did.
Everything in this book is so brilliant. Well, G.K. Chesterton in general is brilliant, so I guess I'm not surprised that this is no exception. For some reason, I didn't love Heretics overmuch (although the premise is great--Chesterton is picking apart the theological standpoints of his contemporaries), but Orthodoxy is beyond compare and The Blatchford Controversies is a set of four succinct papers about orthodoxy and heresy.
By far, my favorite section of this volume is Orthodoxy, and I would rate this entire volume five stars for Orthodoxy alone, even if the other volumes were terrible (which they are not). But the brilliance of is that Chesterton can address extraordinarily deep concepts in very approachable and relatable ways and within a fairly short space (about the length of a longish essay). My favorite chapter, for example, is "The Ethics of Fairyland," probably because I love fairy tales and Chesterton takes the ethics of fairyland farther than I could have dreamed--even when talking only about glass in fairy tales. Ah, I am finding myself unable to write a proper review about this book--so go read it, starting with Orthodoxy. You won't be sorry you did.
October 22, 2013
HERETICS
I should have read this book long ago, since I read its successor - Orthodoxy - when I was only 14 years old. Granted, Heretics is a bit dated regarding Chesterton's references to his contemporaries, many of whose memories have already blown away with the dust (excepting of couse George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells). Nonetheless, Chesterton's points about man and society are, as always, timeless.
ORTHODOXY
This book marks my true intellectual awakening as an adolescent. I read it for a high school book report. It was almost too havey for my fourteen-year-old brain, but not quite. I slogged through it. When I was writing the report, however, I realized just what a treasure it and its author was. Chesterton shows us that believing in Christ and the Church he founded, along with its doctrines and dogmas, is neither boring nor restrictive. Its revelations are beautiful, adventurous, daring, and innovative no matter how old. It is all-encompassing and has a place for all. What other faith has both peace-loving mendicants and fierce crusaders, both of whom serve the same God and the same Church? (Well, I'm sure parallels could be drawn… but let me wax hyperbolic here…). And of course, it introduced me to looking at the world in Chesterton's "topsy-turvy" manner, a world that is fresh and exciting, a world where one finds truth in its paradoxes.
I should have read this book long ago, since I read its successor - Orthodoxy - when I was only 14 years old. Granted, Heretics is a bit dated regarding Chesterton's references to his contemporaries, many of whose memories have already blown away with the dust (excepting of couse George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells). Nonetheless, Chesterton's points about man and society are, as always, timeless.
ORTHODOXY
This book marks my true intellectual awakening as an adolescent. I read it for a high school book report. It was almost too havey for my fourteen-year-old brain, but not quite. I slogged through it. When I was writing the report, however, I realized just what a treasure it and its author was. Chesterton shows us that believing in Christ and the Church he founded, along with its doctrines and dogmas, is neither boring nor restrictive. Its revelations are beautiful, adventurous, daring, and innovative no matter how old. It is all-encompassing and has a place for all. What other faith has both peace-loving mendicants and fierce crusaders, both of whom serve the same God and the same Church? (Well, I'm sure parallels could be drawn… but let me wax hyperbolic here…). And of course, it introduced me to looking at the world in Chesterton's "topsy-turvy" manner, a world that is fresh and exciting, a world where one finds truth in its paradoxes.
December 29, 2008
Heretics, the precursor to Orthodoxy, is sometimes overlooked but contains some brilliant essays and some of Chesterton's best thoughts on the family. Orthodoxy is rightfully a classic and contains the best preface to a work I've read. The Blatchford Papers gives good background to both of the works. It fascinating and depressing that such an exchange took place in a newspaper when you meditate on what passes for news nowadays. All in all, a wonderful entry in the Collected Works...
December 19, 2014
Absolutely incredible yet credible. That is, it is amazing yet believable. Chesterton has a way of putting the most unintuitive twists on the most commonplace topics, and, like C.S. Lewis, makes the dry and uninteresting fresh and vivid. If you have to read just one work of Chesterton, Orthodoxy has to be the one I'd recommend the most. But you'll be selling yourself short if you do not read some of his other works as well...
May 30, 2008
So far, this has been the most challenging book I have ever read. Chesterton's style is witty and complex, but at the same time, quite deep. I'm probably going to have to re-read it. So much of it is like drinking from a firehose, not to mention the language of it is quite different than language common to books today. There are, however, some brilliant sections that just blow your mind.
May 9, 2011
Fantastic. Chesterton's arguments may not be as clear to modern audiences because he often contextualizes them in terms of the names, events, literature, and politics of the period. Nevertheless, he is a wonderfully entertaining writer, and profound in his defense of Christianity and his explanation of the sources of his own faith.
June 6, 2016
1st read completed in Oct 2012. I believe it deserves a 3rd listen. 2nd time around was met with interrupted thought about points he was making. I suppose that's the challenge with listening to a book over reading it. But not really much.
So much detail and insight into the complex Christian world, yet simplicity of its doctrine.
So much detail and insight into the complex Christian world, yet simplicity of its doctrine.
November 11, 2008
I like this dude. I hear he made some truly foul remarks during his time. Real inexcusable comments about Jews. The comments have been called an "indelible stain" by Auden. Truly.
Still, Chesterton's perspective on the world around him was genuinely counter-culture and highly romantic.
Still, Chesterton's perspective on the world around him was genuinely counter-culture and highly romantic.
March 27, 2010
Chesterton had amazing insight into his times and the human condition. Always an interesting read. Always challenging in unexpected ways, e.g. he argues that the best jokes are the truly vulgar ones.
December 12, 2012
Well, I don't trust my judgement... I used to really be interested in G.K. Chesterton, and my mom's maiden name is Blatchford, so this was interesting to me from both angles, but I don't know if I like Chesterton anymore... I better read it again, I am reading it on Kindle this time.
May 14, 2008
I've started Heretics and am continuing on...
April 1, 2009
One of the best. I read it every couple years.
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July 29, 2009Favorites
January 22, 2024
Read in 2011 - 5 stars
Read all three again in 2024 - 4 stars.
Read all three again in 2024 - 4 stars.
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April 7, 2016ORTHODOXY
Naturally Chesterton ends this occasionally scintillating volume in the place where it should have began.
Naturally Chesterton ends this occasionally scintillating volume in the place where it should have began.
December 19, 2015
I love this book. I read Orthodoxy almost yearly.
May 20, 2017
Makes many good points. He also seems "to be too clever by half", too use a Victorian phrase. Still with the read is one cares ABOUT Biblical Christianity.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews