Book Series Guide

Author guide

G. K. Chesterton Books in Order

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) was an English writer whose extensive body of work includes poetry, novels, short stories, literary biographies, social criticism, Christian apologetics, journalism, plays, and autobiography. He is particularly known for the Father Brown detective stories, The Man Who Was Thursday, Orthodoxy, The Everlasting Man, and his defenses of Christianity and distributism.

poetryfictiondetective fictionessaysliterary criticismbiographyChristian apologeticssocial criticismhistoryplaysmemoir

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Cover of Orthodoxy

Orthodoxy

Best concise introduction to Chesterton's Christian apologetics and characteristic paradoxical style.

Cover of The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

Accessible and representative novel blending philosophical ideas, suspense, and fantastical satire.

Cover of The Innocence of Father Brown

The Innocence of Father Brown

The natural entry point to the Father Brown stories and Chesterton's detective fiction.

Cover of The Everlasting Man

The Everlasting Man

Major work of Christian history and apologetics, especially useful after Orthodoxy.

Read in order

Books by series

short-story-series · complete

Father Brown

Mystery-story collections featuring Father Brown, Chesterton's priest detective.

Series guide →
  1. 1 Cover of The Innocence of Father Brown
    The Innocence of Father Brown

    Book 1 · short-story-collection · 1911

    Amazon ↗
  2. 2 Cover of The Wisdom of Father Brown
    The Wisdom of Father Brown

    Book 2 · short-story-collection · 1914

    Amazon ↗
  3. 3
    The Incredulity of Father Brown

    Book 3 · short-story-collection · 1926

    Amazon ↗
  4. 4 Cover of The Secret of Father Brown
    The Secret of Father Brown

    Book 4 · short-story-collection · 1927

    Amazon ↗
  5. 5 Cover of The Scandal of Father Brown
    The Scandal of Father Brown

    Book 5 · short-story-collection · 1935

    Amazon ↗

Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Novels (8)
  1. Cover of The Napoleon of Notting Hill
    The Napoleon of Notting Hill

    novel · 1904

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  2. Cover of The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare
    The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare

    novel · 1908

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  3. Cover of The Ball and the Cross
    The Ball and the Cross

    novel · 1909

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  4. Cover of Manalive
    Manalive

    novel · 1912

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  5. Cover of The Flying Inn
    The Flying Inn

    novel · 1914

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  6. Cover of The Trees of Pride
    The Trees of Pride

    novella · 1922

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  7. The Return of Don Quixote

    novel · 1927

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  8. Basil Howe: A Story of Young Love

    novel · 2001

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Nonfiction (24)
  1. Cover of Robert Browning
    Robert Browning

    biography · 1903

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  2. G. F. Watts

    art-criticism · 1904

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  3. Charles Dickens

    literary-biography · 1906

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  4. Cover of George Bernard Shaw
    George Bernard Shaw

    literary-criticism · 1909

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  5. William Blake

    literary-biography · 1910

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  6. Cover of What's Wrong with the World
    What's Wrong with the World

    social-criticism · 1910

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  7. Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens

    literary-criticism · 1911

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  8. The Victorian Age in Literature

    literary-history · 1913

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  9. Utopia of Usurers

    social-criticism · 1917

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  10. Cover of Lord Kitchener
    Lord Kitchener

    biography · 1917

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  11. A Short History of England

    history · 1917

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  12. Irish Impressions

    travel-writing · 1919

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  13. Cover of The Superstition of Divorce
    The Superstition of Divorce

    social-criticism · 1920

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  14. Cover of The New Jerusalem
    The New Jerusalem

    social-criticism · 1920

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  15. Cover of Eugenics and Other Evils
    Eugenics and Other Evils

    social-criticism · 1922

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  16. Cover of What I Saw in America
    What I Saw in America

    travel-writing · 1922

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  17. Cover of St. Francis of Assisi
    St. Francis of Assisi

    biography · 1923

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  18. William Cobbett

    biography · 1925

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  19. Cover of The Outline of Sanity
    The Outline of Sanity

    economic-criticism · 1926

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  20. Robert Louis Stevenson

    literary-biography · 1927

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  21. The Resurrection of Rome

    travel-writing · 1930

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  22. Chaucer

    literary-biography · 1932

    Amazon ↗
  23. Cover of St. Thomas Aquinas
    St. Thomas Aquinas

    biography · 1933

    Amazon ↗
  24. Autobiography

    memoir · 1936

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Short fiction (7)
  1. Cover of The Club of Queer Trades
    The Club of Queer Trades

    short-story-collection · 1905

    Amazon ↗
  2. Cover of The Man Who Knew Too Much
    The Man Who Knew Too Much

    short-story-collection · 1922

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  3. Tales of the Long Bow

    short-story-collection · 1925

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  4. The Sword of Wood

    short-story-collection · 1928

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  5. Cover of The Poet and the Lunatics
    The Poet and the Lunatics

    short-story-collection · 1929

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  6. Cover of Four Faultless Felons
    Four Faultless Felons

    short-story-collection · 1930

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  7. Cover of The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond
    The Paradoxes of Mr. Pond

    short-story-collection · 1937

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Essays and speeches (28)
  1. The Defendant

    essay-collection · 1901

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  2. Twelve Types

    essay-collection · 1902

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  3. Varied Types

    essay-collection · 1903

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  4. Cover of Heretics
    Heretics

    essay-collection · 1905

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  5. Cover of All Things Considered
    All Things Considered

    essay-collection · 1908

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  6. Cover of Tremendous Trifles
    Tremendous Trifles

    essay-collection · 1909

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  7. Alarms and Discursions

    essay-collection · 1910

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  8. A Miscellany of Men

    essay-collection · 1912

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  9. The Barbarism of Berlin

    political-pamphlet · 1914

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  10. Trial of John Jasper, Lay Precentor of Cloisterham Cathedral, for the Murder of Edwin Drood

    dramatic-pamphlet · 1914

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  11. The Appetite of Tyranny

    political-essay-collection · 1915

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  12. The Crimes of England

    political-essay-collection · 1915

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  13. Divorce versus Democracy

    political-pamphlet · 1916

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  14. How to Help Annexation

    essay-collection · 1918

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  15. The Uses of Diversity

    essay-collection · 1920

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  16. Fancies versus Fads

    essay-collection · 1923

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  17. Generally Speaking

    essay-collection · 1928

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  18. G. K. C. as M. C.

    essay-collection · 1929

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  19. Come to Think of It

    essay-collection · 1930

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  20. All Is Grist

    essay-collection · 1931

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  21. Sidelights on New London and Newer York

    essay-collection · 1932

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  22. Christendom in Dublin

    religious-essays · 1932

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  23. All I Survey

    essay-collection · 1933

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  24. Avowals and Denials

    essay-collection · 1934

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  25. The Well and the Shallows

    essay-collection · 1935

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  26. The Way of the Cross

    religious-essays · 1935

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  27. As I Was Saying

    essay-collection · 1936

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  28. The End of the Armistice

    essay-collection · 1940

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Poetry (8)
  1. Greybeards at Play

    poetry · 1900

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  2. Cover of The Wild Knight and Other Poems
    The Wild Knight and Other Poems

    poetry · 1900

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  3. Cover of The Ballad of the White Horse
    The Ballad of the White Horse

    poetry · 1911

    Amazon ↗
  4. Poems

    poetry-collection · 1915

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  5. Wine, Water, and Song

    poetry-collection · 1915

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  6. The Ballad of St. Barbara and Other Poems

    poetry · 1922

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  7. The Queen of Seven Swords

    poetry · 1926

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  8. The Turkey and the Turk

    poetry · 1930

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Plays (3)
  1. Magic

    play · 1913

    Amazon ↗
  2. The Judgment of Dr. Johnson

    play · 1927

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  3. The Surprise

    play · 1952

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Other (8)
  1. Cover of Orthodoxy
    Orthodoxy

    christian-apologetics · 1908

    Amazon ↗
  2. The Book of Job

    biblical-commentary · 1916

    Amazon ↗
  3. Cover of The Everlasting Man
    The Everlasting Man

    christian-apologetics · 1925

    Amazon ↗
  4. Cover of The Catholic Church and Conversion
    The Catholic Church and Conversion

    christian-apologetics · 1927

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  5. Do We Agree?

    debate · 1928

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  6. The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic

    christian-apologetics · 1929

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  7. Stories, Essays and Poems

    mixed-collection · 1935

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  8. Cover of The Coloured Lands
    The Coloured Lands

    mixed-collection · 1938

    Amazon ↗