Audiobook · read by volunteers
Orthodoxy
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936)
Read by J A Carter · 17 chapters · 6 h 02
About the book
G. K. Chesterton begins with a wonderful problem: how can a man who set out to discover a new land find that he has landed on the very shore he left? In Orthodoxy he uses this image to describe his own journey of thought, from the philosophies of his age back to the Christian faith. With his usual wit, he turns paradox into argument, claiming that the creed he finally accepted answers a series of riddles that every human heart carries. He writes about madness and reason, about wonder and common sense, about the idea of progress and the nature of freedom, in sentences that sparkle and surprise. Seventeen sections, read by a single volunteer, fill about six hours. Whether you share his faith or not, the book is a lively demonstration of how a brilliant essayist makes thought into entertainment.
Introduction
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, who lived from 1874 to 1936, was an English writer of extraordinary range: essayist, novelist, poet, journalist and creator of the priest-detective Father Brown. He was known for his large presence, his love of paradox and his friendly debates with contemporaries such as George Bernard Shaw.
Orthodoxy was published in 1909 and is his best-known work of Christian apologetics. It was written partly in answer to critics who had challenged him to say what he himself believed. The book is part memoir of ideas, part argument, and it is organised around the notion that the Christian creed fits human experience like a key in a lock.
The LibriVox recording has seventeen sections, some chapters being divided into two parts, and lasts about six hours. It is read by one volunteer. Listening makes it easier to enjoy the rhythm of Chesterton's prose, which was built to be savoured aloud. Readers with an interest in religious thought, English literature of the Edwardian age or the art of the essay will find much to reward them. Chesterton's habit of turning an argument upside down to see how it looks from below makes the book entertaining as well as thoughtful. The chapters can be followed in order, but each also stands as an essay of its own, so listeners can pause at will and return later without losing the thread of his reasoning.
Public domain
G. K. Chesterton died in 1936: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text