The Scandal of Father Brown

The Scandal of Father Brown was published in 1935, the year before Chesterton’s death, and it gathers the last eight Father Brown stories he wrote. The collection has a more contemplative tone than the earlier books. Chesterton was in declining health, and his focus had shifted somewhat from the puzzle mechanics of detective fiction toward the moral and political concerns that occupied his late nonfiction.

The title story has Brown defending a Spanish-American actor and his wife against the gossip and assumptions of a small society. The Quick One is a sharp short piece involving a poisoning. The Blast of the Book features a haunted reference work that drives readers temporarily mad. The Green Man involves murder at a golf course. As a whole the collection is less consistent than the earlier ones but contains several of Chesterton’s most morally weighted Father Brown stories. A worthwhile close to the canon if you have read the rest, and a slightly unusual introduction if you have not.