Gilbert: the Man Who Was G.K. Chesterton.

AS A biographer, G. K. Chesterton sought to capture the essence of his subjects. Instead of being mere descriptions of chronological events, his works were sparkling and incisive. Granted, they often contained historical inaccuracies, and only Chesterton would dare write A History of England without mentioning a date; but this did not concern him, for in his view most facts were incidental. Chesterton was far more concerned with the spiritual and philosophical creeds that inspired men.

When he began dictating St. Thomas Aquinas (1933), his research for the project consisted of a very casual perusal of a few books by the Angelic Doctor. His publishers, Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward, were concerned that GKC'S efforts might result in a lightweight treatment of a very complex philosopher. Their concern was unfounded. After reading the manuscript, Etienne Gilson, this century's leading Thomist, declared Chesterton one of the deepest thinkers who ever existed," and his volume "without possible comparison the best book ever written on St. Thomas."

In Gilbert: The Man Who Was G. K. Chesterton, British journalist Michael Coren exhibits the traits that one admires most in his subject's own biographies, and helps restore Chesterton's reputation as a literary genius and defender of orthodoxy. Coren gives an intimate, lively view of GKC'S relationships and rows with Shaw, Belloc, Wells, and Beerbohm. And because his book targets controversial aspects of Chesterton's life, it is likely that self-proclaimed Chesterton scholars a group Chesterton would find amusing-will frown upon Coren's approach. But that's a good sign, for the scholars are content only when Chesterton is rendered languid.

Coren, Jewish by birth and a convert to Catholicism in 1986, thoroughly examines Chesterton's alleged anti-semitism. In his view, "when Gilbert was left to relate to Jewish people, away from the insidious influence of Belloc and brother Cecil, he usually left a noble impression."

At times Chesterton's sense of humor appeared insensitive to Jews, but, as Coren points out, "it was fashionable to joke about Jewish influence and Jewish characteristics and Gilbert gave in to the meager temptations of a vile fashion." Throughout his life, Chesterton was often cavalier toward other people's feelings-not out of viciousness, but because he expected others to have as thick a hide as his own.

Those who came in contact with Chesterton recognized his deep-rooted belief in the dignity and sanctity of the person. This explains why he was venerated by George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells, men who vehemently disagreed with his social and political views. It is no surprise that after meeting GKC in Jerusalem, Chaim Weizmann became an admirer.

Chesterton believed that the New Order in Germany was a manifestation of profound evil. As early as 1934 he wrote an anti-Nazi pamphlet declaring, "thousands of Jews have recently been rabbled or ruined or driven from their homes.... I do indeed despise the Hitlerites."

The Wiener Library, the archive of anti-semitism and Holocaust history in London, considered Chesterton a friend and recently reported:

The difference between social and philosophical anti-semitism is something which is not fully understood.... With Chesterton we've never thought of a man who was seriously anti-semitic on either count.... He was not an enemy, and when the real testing time came along he showed what side he was on.

Coren's is the third Chesterton biography in eight years. Its publication indicates a resurging interest in the great man. Why the revival? Perhaps GKC gave the answer when he wrote in A Handful of Authors:

We have all heard of prophets and poets being unpopular; and also of unpopularity as a thing that may purify the soul. But there is this further and rather odd fact-that every great man must go through a period of unpopularity, not while he is after, but shortly after he is dead. That after eclipse is essential because in that is settled the difference between temporary and eternal oblivion.

The prophet and the quack are alike admired for a generation, and admired for the wrong reasons. Then they are both forgotten, for no reason at all. But if the man is a mere quack he never returns. If he is a great man he returns, and he returns for the right reasons.

Chesterton returns because he prophesied, almost a century ago, that the modernist proposals would lead to the dehumanization of man and the annihilation of the family. He knew that the person is not the dross of history, but a spiritual entity of ultimate importance. Chesterton returns because man has begun to understand the belief expressed by his sleuth, Father Brown: All men matter. You matter. I matter. It is the hardest thing in theology to believe."