The Absence of Mr. Glass

A fun-filled little story by Chesterton, the father of the paradox and perhaps as skilled a popular storyteller as any of the Edwardian Era. It is always a delight to read any of these simple Father Brown stories because while they are worthy detective tales in their own right, they are also ingeniously constructed parables which teach us, not too didactically, how not to assume or judge things prematurely. Chesterton's writing is witty and concise and yet also vivid and nuanced and Father Brown himself is a charmingly congenial character worth rooting for every time.

Father Brown is a short, nondescript Catholic Priest with shapeless clothes and a large umbrella who has an uncanny insight into human evil. His methods, unlike those of his near contemporary Sherlock Holmes, although based on observation of details often unnoticed by others, tended to be intuitive rather than deductive. Although clearly devout, he always emphasizes rationality: despite his religiousness and his belief in God and miracles, he manages to see the perfectly ordinary, natural explanation of the problem. He is a devout, educated and "civilized" clergyman, who is totally familiar with contemporary and secular thought and behavior. His character was though to be based on Father John O'Connor (1870 - 1952), a parish priest in Bradford, Yorkshire.