The Father Brown stories sit in relation to other detective literature much as the diminutive and seemingly unworldly Priest himself often sits; quietly, thoughtfully and often to be overlooked. However, when he at lasts speaks it is with such understanding of human knowledge that the self-styled sophisticates that surround him are dumbfounded. C.K Chesterton is not concerned with the procedural minutiae of the detective’s work, nor with leaving a trail of red herrings with which to keep us guessing. Father Brown reaches his conclusions through staring into the human psyche, indeed, at times, into the human soul.
