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Cover of Manalive

Classic Fiction

Manalive

by G. K. Chesterton

An eccentric man brings chaos and happiness to a house of litigious lodgers.

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First published
1912
Length
57,894 words
Reading time
About 4 hr 2 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

A man of unusually large stature and dexterity arrives at a boardinghouse on the wind—literally—while its unsuspecting lodgers look on in shock. The man, Innocent Smith, performs comic, eccentric, and dastardly acts which are examined and put to trial by the residents and renowned experts. Lawyers on both sides of the question of Innocent Smith’s guilt bring revelatory correspondence to the trial.

In this fast-paced comedy of expansive proportions, Chesterton examines the meaning of life through the lens of the religious idea of the “holy fool.” Innocent Smith defies all logic—but perhaps that’s just what his new friends need.

First published 1912; the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 57,894 words arranged in 12 navigable sections.

About the author

G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) is described by Wikidata as English author and Christian apologist (1874–1936), with citizenship or national association recorded as United Kingdom.

Recorded occupations include journalist, poet, novelist, autobiographer, writer, and screenwriter. Languages recorded for G. K. Chesterton include English. Wikidata lists The Club of Queer Trades, The Man Who Was Thursday, Orthodoxy, The Everlasting Man, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, and Father Brown among G. K. Chesterton's notable works. Open Library identifies Robert Browning as a leading work in its author record. Open Library catalogs 37 works under this author record. The Read4Max catalog currently includes Heretics, Manalive, Orthodoxy, The Club of Queer Trades, The Everlasting Man, The Incredulity of Father Brown, and The Innocence of Father Brown under G. K. Chesterton's authorship.

1874–1936

Reading options

  • A complete text with direct section navigation in the browser reader.
  • A downloadable EPUB for phones, tablets, desktop reading apps, and compatible ereaders.
  • Book and contributor metadata are checked against the source edition before indexing.

Themes and ideas

  • Humorous stories
  • Attempted murder
  • Mystery fiction
  • False arrest

Table of contents

Open reader
  1. Part I
  2. I
  3. II
  4. III
  5. IV
  6. V
  7. Part II
  8. I
  9. II
  10. III
  11. IV
  12. V
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