The Club of Queer Trades

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Hesperus Press, 2007 - Fiction - 149 pages
Published here with his essay "A Defence of Detective Stories," this witty and hugely enjoyable work was Chesterton's first foray into detective fiction. Set in late Victorian London, The Club of Queer Tradesintroduces us to would-be private detective Rupert Grant and his brother, the outlandish and seemingly insane retired judge, Basil, who is in fact by far the more astute of the two. They undertake a series of bizarre and improbable cases that see them dealing with various eccentric characters, including a Major receiving a very odd death threat and a trapped woman who refuses to be rescued. As their cases mount up, it becomes clear that all the investigations are linked to the enigmatic Club of Queer Trades.

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About the author (2007)

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London, England, in 1874. He began his education at St Paul's School, and later went on to study art at the Slade School, and literature at University College in London. Chesterton wrote a great deal of poetry, as well as works of social and literary criticism. Among his most notable books are The Man Who Was Thursday, a metaphysical thriller, and The Everlasting Man, a history of humankind's spiritual progress. After Chesterton converted to Catholicism in 1922, he wrote mainly on religious topics. Chesterton is most known for creating the famous priest-detective character Father Brown, who first appeared in "The Innocence of Father Brown." Chesterton died in 1936 at the age of 62.