The Wisdom of Father Brown

G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

This is the second of five books of short stories about G. K. Chesterton’s fictional detective, first published in 1914. Father Brown is a short, nondescript Catholic Priest with shapeless clothes and a large umbrella who has an uncanny insight into human evil. His methods, unlike those of his near contemporary Sherlock Holmes, although based on observation of details often unnoticed by others, tended to be intuitive rather than deductive. Although clearly devout, he always emphasizes rationality: despite his religiousness and his belief in God and miracles, he manages to see the perfectly ordinary, natural explanation of the problem. He is a devout, educated and "civilized" clergyman, who is totally familiar with contemporary and secular thought and behavior. His character was thought to be based on Father John O'Connor (1870 - 1952), a parish priest in Bradford, Yorkshire. (Summary by Martin)

Genre(s): Detective Fiction

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Chapter 01 Martin Clifton
00:33:54
Play 02 Chapter 02 Martin Clifton
00:41:13
Play 03 Chapter 03 Martin Clifton
00:35:38
Play 04 Chapter 04 Martin Clifton
00:39:57
Play 05 Chapter 05 Martin Clifton
00:36:15
Play 06 Chapter 06 Martin Clifton
00:37:38
Play 07 Chapter 07 Martin Clifton
00:32:37
Play 08 Chapter 08 Martin Clifton
00:45:05
Play 09 Chapter 09 Martin Clifton
00:34:48
Play 10 Chapter 10 Martin Clifton
00:31:42
Play 11 Chapter 11 Martin Clifton
00:36:41
Play 12 Chapter 12 Martin Clifton
00:31:48