Manalive (Annotated)

by G. K. Chesterton

Overview

• This edition includes the following editor's introduction: G. K. Chesterton, the man beyond the writer

First published in 1912, “Manalive” is a book by English author and philosopher G. K. Chesterton detailing a popular theme both in his own philosophy, and in Christianity, of the "holy fool," such as in Dostoevsky's “The Idiot” and Cervantes' “Don Quixote.”

“Manalive” tells the story of Innocent Smith, a colossal and comic man who bounds onto the grounds of Brighton House – a manor filled with those who have forgotten the immediacy of existence – and proceeds to awaken life into its residents. Yet when the spirited and mirthful Smith is accused of murder, burglary and unfaithfulness to his wife, it is up the residents of Brighton House to form a court and defend his innocence against the masters of modern science and psychology.

“Manalive” is a wonderfully entertaining and comic tale the goal of which is to bring people to life, to make them recognize the world around them, and at the same time to see the boyish wonder which serves as the foundation for this mirth at life.

There is one thing that the reader may count on when picking up one of Chesterton’s novels, and that is simply that there is no way of knowing what to expect. There is always an air of mystery, of danger, of humor, of depth, and without fail a little absurdity brought about in attempt to awaken the reader to life. Of course, "Manalive" fulfils all these expectations.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9791222003900
Publisher:	ePembaBooks
Publication date:	11/16/2022
Sold by:	StreetLib SRL
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 - 14 June 1936) better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, lay theologian, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, literary and art critic, biographer, and Christian apologist. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox." Time magazine, in a review of a biography of Chesterton, observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories-first carefully turning them inside out."
Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown, and for his reasoned apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognized the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. Chesterton, as a political thinker, cast aspersions on both Progressivism and Conservatism, saying, "The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Roman Catholicism from High Church Anglicanism. George Bernard Shaw, Chesterton's "friendly enemy" according to Time, said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius." Biographers have identified him as a successor to such Victorian authors as Matthew Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, Cardinal John Henry Newman, and John Ruskin.