A prolific and much-acclaimed writer, G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) is best known as the creator of detective-priest Father Brown. Although Chesterton's mysteries constitute only a small fraction of his writings (which include essays, poetry, plays, and biographies), they abound in the felicities that make all of his works enduringly popular: a pleasingly paradoxical style, a wealth of pithy aphorisms, and a luxurious supply of exuberant wit. These eight tales trace the activities of Horne Fisher, the man who knew too much. A member of a wealthy and socially prominent family, Fisher is extraordinarily well acquainted with the ways of the rich and powerful (in fact, he knows too much about them). A keen mind and powerful deductive gifts make Fisher a natural sleuth, and he conducts his investigations of crimes committed on the great country estates of the aristocracy with the able assistance of his friend and confidant, the writer Harold March. Notable for their humor and sense of wonder, these adventures, written in the classic tradition of English mysteries, offer an evocative portrait of upper-crust society in pre-World War I Britain.
