The Defendant

Chesterton’s earliest collection of essays, first published in 1901, and out-of-print since 1940! When you read The Defendant you will probably have the same reaction that James Schall had when he read it: “This must be Chesterton’s best book!” It was this book that established Chesterton as a writer to be reckoned with, as he rises to defend things that you wouldn’t think need to be defended: skeletons, detective stories, patriotism, babies… As usual, Chesterton is more pertinent than ever.