With The Innocence of Father Brown G.K. Chesterton initiated his long-running series of detective stories whose protagonist was the unassuming yet acutely insightful little Catholic priest, Father Brown. As Chesterton noted in his autobiography, this now renowned character was based on the real Father John O'Connor, although the similarity between the two was “internal” rather than related to outward demeanor (Knox viii-ix). Published in 1911 after having appeared originally in the British magazines Storyteller and Cassell's Magazine (Gardner 1), The Innocence of Father Brown comprises ten short stories: “The Blue Cross”, “The Secret Garden”, “The Queer Feet”, “The Flying Stars”, …
2114 words
Citation: Kusmer, Robert. "The Innocence of Father Brown". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 January 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=506, accessed 24 November 2024.]
