The Man Who Knew Too Much

by G.K. Chesterton, Harold Wiederman (Narrator)

Horne Fisher, at home in British countryside or aristocratic manor, may know "almost everything, indeed, except the world he was living in" and catch the crook, but have to throw a big one back, otherwise "blow the whole tangle of society to hell with dynamite" or "knock us endways from Malta to Mandalay", end 1920s Empire.
1 The face in the target - First class shot kills Puggy, whose caricature glows from target bullet holes.
2 The vanishing prince - Cops shot from tower where O'Neill is not.
3 The soul of the schoolboy - Silver coin of St Paul vanishes in locked room.
4 The bottomless well - Jealous colonel drops dead of poison from coffee cup on bookshelf; wife's lover survives.
5 The fad of the fisherman
6 The hole in the wall
7 The temple of silence aka fool of the family
8 The vengeance of the statue

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Classics, Short Stories, Audiobook, Crime, Literature

Audiobook

First published January 1, 1922

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

[Darwin8u · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Modern intelligence won't accept anything on authority. But it will accept anything without authority.”
― G.K. Chesterton, The Man Who Knew Too Much



A collection of Chesterton detective stories revolving around Horne Fisher and his companion, political journalist Harold March. These stories have a lot of the same late Victorian/Edwardian flavor of Sherlock Holmes and Chesterton's own Father Brown stories. The reluctant, and moral protagonist of The Man Who Knew Too Much, however, is often forced by greater-good circumstance or a need to protect the best interests of England from revealing the killer or the culprit.

The strengths of these stories revolves around the clever paradoxes that Chesterton (the dark prince of paradox) knows too well. The weakness of these stories (and the reason I gave them 3 stars and not 4 stars) is the unsubtle antisemitism that pops up in a couple of them (especially 'the Bottomless Well').

Stories include:

"The Face in the Target"
"The Vanishing Prince"
"The Soul of the Schoolboy"
"The Bottomless Well"
"The Hole in the Wall"
"The Fad of the Fisherman"
"The Fool of the Family"
"The Vengeance of the Statue"

[Jonathan Terrington · Rating 4 out of 5]

G.K. Chesterton is an author who simply must be read by anyone fascinated by quality detective literature. Or literature in general for that matter. His insights into human nature, particular regarding morality, psychology and the soul or heart are profound. At the same time the mixture of wit, sarcasm, humour and paradox he weaves together is fascinatingly powerful.

To put it simply, Chesterton's writing is unique. Not unique as Mervyn Peake is unique in his word choice. Or unique in the way that Oscar Wilde is unique with his wit or Edgar Allan Poe is with his gothic horror. No, Chesterton is unique in his own particular way. He is unique in the way he blends detective fiction with the metaphysical and with a sense of the supernatural, allowing for an inquiry into deep themes. He is unique in his resolution and the process with which he carries off his plots. When you think you have Chesterton figured out as a reader you rarely do.

Add to the fact of Chesterton's unusual approach to literature the other aspect of the sheer ease of beauty of his prose and you have a master writer. Chesterton may not possess elegance of some authors with their styles (in many regards he is more an Anton Chekhov than James Joyce) but nothing he has written has ever been clumsy. He possesses a clarity of mind and ability to communicate that prevents inelegance through sheer clumsiness or overphrasing.

The Man Who Knew Too Much is not Chesterton's finest work. However it is a fine work regardless and certainly classic in every sense. It features a collection of short stories centering around Horne Fisher - the man who knew too much and too much about all the wrong things. Through eight different stories Fisher uses his knowledge to divulge the real criminals of different crimes from murder to theft. However it is not the resolutions themselves that (though clever twists they prove to be) are the main crux of the stories. The real issue is in the dilemma Chesterton throws up - that though by law the criminals in the end may be punished, morally they may have escaped (though their souls be damned). There is the sense that Chesterton contrasts legal justice with moral or spiritual justice and concludes that ultimately though spiritual justice has far greater effect.

This is certainly worth reading and if as a reader you have not spared Chesterton the time he is a priority in the near future. Perhaps any one of the collections to be found in The Complete Father Brown may suffice. For looking at the spiritual, psychological and ethical issues and ideas surrounding crimes there are few better than the prince of paradox - Chesterton. In examining crimes and criminality he examines humanity itself.

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

While busy with more mundane matters in your harried career, did you ever perchance innocently overhear a remark by a fellow worker -

And suddenly, you now knew Too Much!?

Well, that was me, five years before I retired as a Middle Manager in a secretive, hush-hush office, as I suddenly entered the downward spiral of workplace Burnout.

For I now Heard Between the Lines...

We all know life is tough - but when your main concern is amassing a pensionable lifetime of service you put your head down and slog manfully through it, at the max.

I was a "yessir, nossir, three bags full, sir" type of the model employee, I guess.

Much too much so.

A lifetime Aspie from a time when such things were ignored (the fifties were remarkably like these twenties) -

For a conservative age behooves us to bite the bullet.

On top of this, my work was with the military. (My numerous colleagues from the Early years, may they rest in peace, would roll over in their coffins if they could hear me now.)

For it was an office rife with secrets.

***

Harold March is one of the main characters of the story, along with the secretive Home Fisher, a weirdo to young Harold at first blush.

Harold, like me, is an Aspie book reviewer. His plan on the day he meets Home Fisher is to interview a Socialist peer about his new political agenda. Then Harold, the reviewer, encounters Home.

Home is an Aspie who has gone Weird.

He knows too much, you see!

He's suddenly like I was - an autistic guy who flips out.

***

This title story from the collection is thus a maniacal mystery tour starring this dangerous duo.

Fun and games?

Well, for Chesterton it was just a steam valve -

On the boiling pressure cooker of his own frantically Aspie life!

[Eliasdgian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ας γίνει ξεκάθαρο από την αρχή ότι Ο άνθρωπος που ήξερε πολλά του G.K. Chesterton ουδεμία σχέση έχει με την ομώνυμη ταινία του Alfred Hitchcock. Άρα ο James Stewart (πρωταγωνιστής της αμερικανικής βερσιόν του αξέχαστου θρίλερ) δεν είναι η κινηματογραφική ενσάρκωση του ήρωα του βιβλίου του Chesterton, ο οποίος λέγεται Horne Fisher και είναι ο άνθρωπος που ήξερε πολλά, πάρα πολλά.

Ο Horne Fisher, ένας «ψηλός, αντοιχτόχρωμος άνδρας, κάτισχνος και κάπως απαθής, με βαριά βλέφαρα και μακριά μύτη» είναι ο κύριος πρωταγωνιστής (και) των οκτώ διηγημάτων που απαρτίζουν την ωραιότατη αυτή έκδοση της Αλεξάνδρειας. Πρόκειται για διηγήματα ασύνδετα μεταξύ τους, που κανένα τους δεν υπερβαίνει σε έκταση τις τριάντα σελίδες, και διαβάζονται με οποιαδήποτε σειρά (εκτός, ίσως, από την πρώτη ιστορία, "Το Πρόσωπο στον Στόχο", στο οποίο ο Horne Fisher συναντάται με τον δημοσιογράφο Harold March, πρόσωπο που εμφανίζεται και στα υπόλοιπα διηγήματα του βιβλίου).

Εν τάχει, ο Horne Fisher, σαν άλλος πατέρας Μπράουν (πρόκειται για τον ήρωα πέντε τόμων αστυνομικών ιστοριών του G.K. Chesterton), μέσω της οξυδέρκειας και της φαντασίας που τον διακρίνει, αλλά και κυρίως λόγω της βαθιάς γνώσης του για τον ανθρώπινο ψυχισμό και την ανθρώπινη κοινωνία εν γένει, εξιχνιάζει τα πιο αλλόκοτα και παράξενα εγκλήματα. Εγκλήματα που συμβαίνουν μεταξύ των ανθρώπων της άρχουσας τάξης, όπου και η ίδια η οικογένεια του Horne Fisher ανήκει, η διαλεύκανση των οποίων εγκυμονεί τις περισσότερες φορές πολιτική αστάθεια ή κοινωνική αναταραχή. Γι’ αυτό και ο αριστοκράτης ντετέκτιβ του G.K. Chesterton, αφού ανακαλύψει τον θύτη, τις περισσότερες φορές τον αφήνει να διαφύγει ανενόχλητος ("…όταν πιάνω κάποιο μεγάλο ψάρι, το ξαναρίχνω στο νερό").

Με σπιρτάδα και λεπτή αίσθηση του χιούμορ ο G.K. Chesterton, ενόσω ο ήρωάς του ‘αλιεύει’ την αλήθεια, σχολιάζει τα πολιτικά πράγματα του καιρού του και αποδομεί τους ευγενείς και τους αριστοκράτες, καταδεικνύοντας πόση διαφθορά και διαπλοκή μπορεί να φωλιάζει στους κύκλους τους.

«Γνωρίζω πολλά, είπε. «Αυτό είναι και το πρόβλημά μου, αυτό είναι και το πρόβλημα όλων μας∙ γνωρίζουμε πολλά. Πολλά ο ένας για τον άλλον∙ πολλά για τους εαυτούς μας. Εξ ου και αυτή τη στιγμή ενδιαφέρομαι για το μοναδικό πράγμα που δεν γνωρίζω». «Και ποιο είναι αυτό;», ρώτησε ο άλλος. «Γιατί εκείνος ο δύστυχος είναι νεκρός».

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend Emily Raible’s love for this impelled me to reread it! I did not remember it at all and it is the best story!! Horne Fisher does belong up there with Peter Wimsey!

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly cynical and subversive detective stories, of the sort I never would have expected from Chesterton!

The titular character gives himself that monicker because he is related to / friends with nearly all the important people in Britain, and therefore knows exactly how the country is REALLY run and how the legal system REALLY works. This inspires in him a sense of fatalism and resignation, as he sees the backroom deals, cover-ups and treachery which make the world go 'round, and he solves numerous crimes only to see the guilty parties escape justice due to their power, influence, wealth or even the prejudices of the local constabulary. In essence, it's Chesterton criticizing both British politics and human nature through the medium of dark-yet-beautiful detective stories. And it works.

[Enrique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abandono a mitad de libro. Esto del detective que descubre al asesino con el aletear de una mosca en la primera página de la novela y percibe indicios que ningún mortal ve (sin darle pistas suficientes a los mortales lectores), ya lo tengo leído hace muchos muchos años.
Le pongo 2* porque aún así le reconozco cierta innovación a Chesterton en cuanto a esa naturaleza singular de ese tipo de protagonista que se interesa por hobbies raros, perfila un personaje singular de gran inteligencia que luego se ha copiado mucho en cine y literatura; también los capítulos como aparentemente sueltos los liga bien y arma bien el libro.

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Languid, prematurely balding Horne Fisher is the man who knows too much: whether it’s about plankton or guns, the history of old houses and place names, or the sordid pasts of Britain’s most illustrious. Legends, mathematics, weapons, literature, science—Fisher knows it all like the back of his hand. And this is what makes him a fine detective: because, in the barest of crime scenes, he sees clues that escape others.

I must admit I wanted to read this book because I have a particular fondness for GK Chesterton’s immensely likeable Father Brown series—the little Catholic priest is one of my favourite detectives, and one of the stories which feature him (The Queer Feet) I rate as the cleverest, most ingenious detective short story I've ever read. I had great hopes of The Man Who Knew Too Much.

This is a collection of short stories, nearly all of them set in the countryside, often in large manor houses, amidst a motley crowd of house guests. Fisher’s nearness to the major politicians of the country (and his own long-ago stint as an aspiring politician) mean that a lot of the stories revolve around politics—national and international—as a motive. This also means that several of the stories are similar in tone and motive, tending to blur at times. Chesterton often does not go deep into detail, so more than once I ended a story feeling somewhat cheated: I'd have liked more explanation, a longer unfolding of the truth, a deeper insight into the motive.

There are some exceptions, notable ones being The Bottomless Well and The Hole in the Wall, where the author does justice to the story, not just explaining the unraveling of the clue, but also setting up the scene well. And, importantly, letting something other than Fisher’s all-encompassing knowledge help him solve a case.

On the whole, this was a pleasant enough one-time read, but I'm unlikely to be going back to this book. A couple of the mysteries are not especially intriguing, and through most of the stories, whenever I tried to figure out who the culprit was, I ended up finding I was barking up the wrong tree—because some piece of arcane knowledge possessed only by the criminal and the inimitable Horne Fisher formed the clue that solved the mystery.

Not, as most aficionados of detective fiction will tell you, a good way to keep a reader hooked.

Read if you want more Chesterton, but don't expect stories of the intricacy, the deep knowledge of human nature, and the sheer memorability of the Father Brown series.

[Cleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always an awesome and unique story by Chesterton!

[Pradnya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I missed a clever deduction like Holmes'. I missed serene country backdrop like Christie portrays. The climax of stories are revealed in a bit unhappening way for detective stories. Why I kept going on was the writing. Loved it! I think the modern mystery novels are technically advanced and we expect the detective to be clever, unorthodox hero who twirls magic wand of sudden revelations ( like that of Patrick Jane) so it's not easy to like the Horne Fisher. Plus the stories are too short and less to develop a proper character. Yet I believe back then, he was loved. Thanks or rather blame the time few good books are becoming obsolete for it. But the writing stands still like 24 k gold.

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knew these were short mystery stories instead of a long, possibly lame novel that was made into an exciting early movie in 1934 with Peter Lorre or a definitely lame 1956 movie with Doris Day singing all the time?

Not me, at least until listening to B.J. Harrison's excellent narration on The Classic Tales podcast.

These stories are great fun to listen to and occasionally solve. And even when I know whodunnit I don't know why they dunnit. Which is just as much fun to find out.

[Ozoneocean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book.
It's definitely NOT about a "sleuth" or detective or anything of the sort. Horne Fisher puzzles out various murders and mysteries incidentally, these are never his main concern, to imagine that they are would indicate the most superficial reading of the novel. He is a man mired in the politics and intrigues of his family and the upper-crust of England, each "crime" and mystery simply serves to illustrate Fisher's brilliance, the way he sees "behind" things because of his wealth of secret knowledge of what's "really" going on, the turgid murkiness and corruption in upper echelon British politics, decadent aristocracy and avaricious, unscrupulous new money, all verses the true British patriotism of Horne Fisher and journalist Harold March- who Horne is continually educating as to the "true" nature of things.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo que me ha gustado de este libro no es el argumento de los distintos relatos policíacos (es un libro de relatos), sino la sutiieza del pensamiento de Chesterton, que va dejando por aquí y por allá en frases memorables con las que se podría editar un glosario, si es que no está ya hecho.

[The Phoenix · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF..... I could not get into it.

[Sladjana Kovacevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH-G. K. CHESTERTON
✒️"Believe me, you never know the
best about men till you know the worst about them."
✒️""I am the man who knows too much to know anything, or, at any rate, to do anything," said Horne Fisher. "
🤓Ova zbirka sadrži 8 priča nastalih u vreme začetaka detektivske pripovetke
🤓U svakoj od pripovedaka glavni lik je sveznajući aristokrata Horne Fisher,a prati ga verni prijatelj Harold March.
🤓Prepoznatljivi engleski humor i sarkazam priča o čoveku koji uvek nalazi rešenje zamršenih zločina-od krađe,preko političkih mahinacija do ubistva.
🤓Uočljiva je kritika engleskog društva 1920-ih,o kome ja i ne znam baš previše,tako da samo pretpostavljam da je satira pogodila metu.
🤓Meni su pak draže priče o "običnim" zločinima,a najneobičniji od svih je Princ koji nestaje ili
🤓THE VANISHING PRINCE
Michael je irski pretendent na titulu princa,ili umišljeni princ. On se uvek pojavi kad ga najmanje očekuju a nestaje kad ga traže,pogotovo ako ga traži policija. U priči su zastupljeni elementi irske mitologije,duhoviti obrti,mađioničarski trikovi i obmane. Ovde je jedini put čovek koji je previše znao priznao da mu to ničemu ne služi,ako pritom nije u stanju da išta promeni.
🤓U svakom slučaju,vredi pročitati sve priče pa prosuditi koja se vama najviše sviđa🙂
#7sensesofabook #knjige #bookstagram #readingaddict #literature

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what I was expecting out of this one. I picked it off of Project Gutenberg's top 100 list thinking maybe it was related to the film of the same name. It's not, but since I've never seen the film, I'm not disappointed.

It's a series of "detective" stories that strike me as a little odd because there are very few of them that I think I might have been able to puzzle out on my own. Perhaps I'm coddled by modern authors holding my hand through every twist and leaving a phosphorescent trail of clues. Perhaps that's the point of Chesterton's stories - his protagonist Horne Fisher is so strangely brilliant he can see the angles even when they're hardly visible after the reveal. I feel it would not be inaccurate to say that these aren't mystery stories so much as they're a series of vignettes about this strange man and he often happens to solve a few things while being written about.

Even that description gives the wrong impression, as there are no "aha, we have you the killer! Now to wait for the police to arrest him!" moments. There's far more "but you see, my friend, the butcher (who we just saw arrested) wasn't actually the murderer. If it were let out that Lord Culverton's man - for he is the true murderer - was the culprit, there would be a scandal that would threaten to destroy England herself because of [reasons]" all of which is said by Fisher sadly, as if you can hear the weight on his shoulders. It was entertaining to see any sort of murder mystery where justice was deliberately not done (on a small scale) to save the world.

The first time, that is. Afterward it got a little bit tiring, as if that were Chesterton's main schtick - "Consider the ramifications!"

I think I would require a deeper understanding (okay, any understanding) of the political system in the United Kingdom in the late 19th / early 20th century to really truly get my teeth into these stories.

Still, I had fun. Horne Fisher is a ... maybe not fascinating character but at least intriguing. I hear that Chesterton's 'Father Brown' stories are more widely known and enjoyed; perhaps I'll try those next.

Better yet, I'm going to go revisit Doyle since it's been ages since I read any Sherlock Holmes stories.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of short story detective fiction. Very interesting, almost odd. But in a good way. They're short stories, so lighter on character development than a longer work, but you still pick up a pretty opinion on the main character after a couple of the stories. Almost likeable, but maybe with a little bit too much self-indulgent self-pity.

Horne Fisher is a man who knows too much. He wishes he didn't, but he does. And it's a curse. It's a curse because as he solves each case (which he's bound to do because he knows too much) he realises that, again, because he knows too much he knows that he can't bring the criminal to justice. Some will be accidents, some will be covered up, others will be just left unsolved. Each time because Horne Fisher knows, and understands, that to make the crime or the criminal public will bring down governments, cause wars or destabilise countries.

He feels a sense of guilt from his complicity, but because he's part of the system that he's protecting he doesn't have the strength of character to break with the peer pressure he feels and let justice prevail. That he lacks this strength of character only strengthens his sense of guilt.

Luckily, throughout many of the stories, he has a friend. Journalist Harold March - his Dr. Watson. There to document the stories in part, but more importantly to play the outsider and the conscience to Horne Fisher's self-pitying detachment.

The writing is a little dated, but then it was written in 1922. Luckily the style is still very accessible and it does mean that the Kindle version is available for free...

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

4* The Innocence of Father Brown (Father Brown, #1)
3* The Wisdom of Father Brown (Father Brown, #2)
3* The Blue Cross: A Father Brown Mystery
3* Father Brown Stories
3* The Invisible Man: Stories from the Innocence of Father Brown
3* The Queer Feet: A Father Brown Mystery
3* The Eye of Apollo : A Father Brown Mystery
2* The Honour of Israel Gow
2* The Hammer of God
3* The Sins of Prince Saradine: A Father Brown Mystery
3* The Club of Queer Trades
2* The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond
3* The Secret Garden
3* Las muertes de los Pendragon
3* The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
4* The Napoleon of Notting Hill
4* The Man Who Knew Too Much
TR Geoffrey Chaucer
TR The Victorian Age in Literature
TR Twelve Types: A Collection of Mini-Biographies
TR Charles Dickens: A Critical Study

[Dee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible Plus 6 hours 50 min. Narrated by Harold Wiederman (A)

Chesterton's novels resemble poetry, and thus, the audio version is pleasant to listen to. Each of the eight chapters involves a crime solved by The Man Who Knew Too Much, Mr. Horne Fisher. However, I wasn't expecting the denouement of the book to be found in the final sentence!

Negative thoughts on Chesterton's writing: Some use of antisemitism. If a man or woman is of ignoble character, he or she is "Jewish."
This book was written just after the Great War, and Chesterton's unadulterated pride in Britain must be born with.

The only resemblance of this book to Alfred Hitchcock's movie is the title.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings. On one hand, Chesterton's prose is often lovely (this is the first I've read from him) and a few of the mysteries are quite engaging. On the other hand, his detective character, Fisher, wasn't engaging for me, and I got tired of the collection's gimmick quickly: murders are intentionally covered up, or the wrong men charged with them, because of the political situation. And while that is a probably too realistic and chilling outcome the first few times, after awhile it makes the outcome predictable. It's well written, of course, but just not my thing.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book turned out to be a hidden gem! Never in a million years did I imagine that reading about gruesome murders would have such a cozy feeling. The book comprises eight not-so-short stories and each story is more bewildering than the last.

Even though the political situations went completely over my head, the mystery behind the murders was so fun to read, probably because it felt so gentlemanly, with the characters so likable and real.

It was an amazing first experience with G.K Chesterton.

[Eric Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading any Chesterton book is like hanging out with a great friend. His writing is comfortable and companionable.

More of a meditation on the nature of mystery and the mysterious than a proper collection of detective or crime stories they are still tightly written and compelling.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

There is something about Chesterton's writing style that I don't quite like. I noticed this before in reading some of the Father Brown stories. The plots are interesting enough yet I can't say that I like them.

[Terris · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Sherlock Holmes, you'll like Horne Fisher and how he thinks and solves mysteries. Also, Chesterton is the author of the Father Brown mysteries, so that's another reason to recommend this book and this author :)

[Chris Huff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chesterton's writing style is simultaneously cognitive and gripping. He lost me a few times (actually, quite often, but that had more to do with the dry audio version that I listened to). I regret not paying closer attention, because I missed some of the clever writing and reflections that many other reviews point out.

Although somewhat formulaic, each of the stories was interesting enough to keep one's attention in order to discover the twist. I would have liked to have read different kinds of mysteries, rather than just murders and cover-ups. But I suppose that is the bulk of mystery novels, and this one did have a few unexpected solutions.

I'm interested to read more Chesterton. But I think I'll avoid any audio versions, as I think I would have given this 5 stars had I put in the extra effort to read it. Gives you more opportunity to think and reflect.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't much care for Wiederman's narration, which made me resort to following along or rereading certain sections in my Kindle edition in order to understand what was happening. Oh well, it was free so nothing lost!

[Iza Brekilien · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was my second try to read something by Chesterton but sadly, his style is not for me.

[Roxana Chirilă · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quotable, but the prose is a bit dense - dense enough, I'm afraid, that it lost me a few times. Other people don't seem to have the same issue, so maybe it's just me, reading it when I was too tired and noticing the quips rather than keeping up with the plot.

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" is a collection of short stories about a man who hangs out with politicians (and is part of a family of politicians himself) and a journalist. They solve all sorts of crimes which turn out to have political implications and must therefore never be revealed to the general public, or the consequences would be terrible.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

While many people tend to go on and on about The Man Who Was Thursday, The Man Who Knew too Much is sorely overlooked and underrated. It is my favourite Chesterton novel bar none... As evidenced by the numerous re-reads it has received from me (probably 4 or 5 by now...Gooodreads isn't accurate!), while I struggled to make it through 'Thursday' once (I had to try that one a few times before finishing).

Upon reaching the end of the final story on my first read-through, I realised this was not so much a collection of intrigue, blackmail, dirty politics, and murder as it is a commentary on how the Fall touches and taints us all...even the 'good guys.'

Harold March is an almost innocent medium through which we gauge each story. He is this sort of upright observer/chronicler drawn tangentially into treason, blackmail, treachery, and murder by dint of being around Horne Fisher, a brilliant, apathetic man of principle.

What I find both appealing and appalling is that Fisher's principles are not governed by Scripture—as one might expect from a hero of Chesterton's—but rather by his nationalism and familial loyalty (in spite of his family's disloyalty and even dislike of him).

The final two stories rather bring it all together. I think Fisher's character growth in the final tale is the redemption of his previous [in]actions to cover for his family members' scandals and his countrymen's lack of principles. You see, the more one knows (and the less idealistic they become), the more apathetic one becomes, realising that either nothing is going to change ultimately...or that if you turn someone in for breaking the law, your whole country may implode.

I love how Horne Fisher is moved to fierce, active patriotism at the end of the book—in sharp relief of Chesteron's description of him throughout the book: languid, sleepy, and lethargic. He moves from the lassitude of being caught between principle and the reality that right does not always win (or even look like right at times) to the action that comes with living out conviction. His character is being awakened more and more with each story, until he comes fully awake in the final story. The last paragraph or so causes me to tear up every time...

[Karo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this is a book that is worth some deeper research than just downloading it for free because it sounds vaguely important. And since that's clearly one of those shoulda things that never actually happen, this is going to be a poor excuse for a review.

First of all, it quickly dawned on me that it's actually a collection of short stories. A proper book would have told me that on the sleeve (and I would have promptly put it back), but ebooks are a mysterious entity without sleeves. ("Wait a minute?! Donkeys don't have sleeves! - You KNOW what I mean!")

The stories are connected in that they all feature Horne Fisher, mysterious, tired, well-connected, liberal: The Man Who Knew Too Much. They are all mystery cases on the outside, but political ones, and as such generally with a disappointing, anti-climatical outcome. Fisher knows politics, being related to half the country's political elite. He knows that the big fish will never get caught, that society can't change as long as this knowledge holds true, and that he, despite his knowledge, can not help the country.
The book was written in 1922, and it becomes more socialist over the course of the stories. Horne Fisher, an aristocrat himself, struggles with his privileges when the working classes are so obviously disadvantaged.

Personally, the older I get, the less well I can cope with politics. I only finished the book because I was already halfway through, and because Chesterton's writing is really very, very good. I tried to ignore the unsubtle political views of the main character, although I might have muttered to myself a fair bit (I never even started The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists because I was shouting abuse just reading the sleeve notes. I really am not a conservative, but unsubtle socialist warblings drive me up the wall. I guess I just don't like being hit around the head with moralistic bricks). I think I need a breather now, but I'll be definitely reading more of Chesterton's writing soon.