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Cover of The Secret of Father Brown

Mystery

The Secret of Father Brown

by G. K. Chesterton

The fourth set of stories of a Catholic priest who is also an amateur detective.

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First published
1927
Length
63,049 words
Reading time
About 4 hr 23 min
Language
English (UK)

About the book

Father Brown returns in his fourth collection of stories, and his sidekick Flambeau makes a return as well, although only in the two framing stories at the beginning and end of the collection.

In the intervening ten stories, Father Brown is alone, and investigating mysteries involving objects as varied as mirrors, literal goldfish (made out of gold), and a suit of armor. As always, his investigations also provide him an opportunity to expound on the nature of evil, the differences between a charlatan’s representation of the supernatural and the real thing, and the opportunities for thieves and murderers to repent of their deeds.

First published 1927; the Read4Max reading text contains approximately 63,049 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

  • England
  • Clergy
  • Detective and mystery stories, English
  • Catholics
  • Brown, Father (Fictitious character)

Table of contents

Open reader
  1. Dedication
  2. The Secret of Father Brown
  3. The Secret of Father Brown
  4. The Mirror of the Magistrate
  5. The Man with Two Beards
  6. The Song of the Flying Fish
  7. The Actor and the Alibi
  8. The Vanishing of Vaudrey
  9. The Worst Crime in the World
  10. The Red Moon of Meru
  11. The Chief Mourner of Marne
  12. The Secret of Flambeau
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