St Francis of Assisi

G.K. Chesterton - St Francis of Assisi
St Francis brought new inspiration to the Christian life by being a mirror of Christ. His defiance of the secular standards of success enabled him to have a Christlike impact on the world.
Chesterton's biography captures the spiritual greatness of St Francis - how he abandoned wealth to embrace the poverty of his Divine Master; how he projected an inner beauty and simplicity in place of a worldly grandeur; and how he lived a life of sacrificial service rather than a prideful pursuit of power.
The biography first appeared in 1923 at a critical time in Chesterton's life. He wrote it a year after his Catholic conversion, and two years before his historical unfolding of The Everlasting Man. This interval enlivened him to the complementary elements of the Christian faith - the dynamic fusion of personal devotion and universal outreach.
The radiant joy of St Francis made an early impression on Chesterton. He wrote a teenage poem on the Saint and adopted his name at Confirmation. Yet he was soon aware of the cultural significance of St Francis, and the biography prepared him for the larger story of the human and the divine in history.
It remains an irresistibly appealing portrait of The Little Poor Man of Assisi.
Karl Schmude, President of the Australian Chesterton society and co-founder of Campion College Australia

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, (29 May 1874 - 14 June 1936), was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox".Time magazine has observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories-first carefully turning them inside out. Chesterton is well known for his fictional priest-detective Father Brown,[5] and for his reasoned apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognised the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.[4][6] Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "orthodox" Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Catholicism from High Church Anglicanism. George Bernard Shaw, his "friendly enemy", said of him, "He was a man of colossal genius."[4] Biographers have identified him as a successor to such Victorian authors as Matthew Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, Cardinal John Henry Newman, and John Ruskin. Chesterton was born in Campden Hill in Kensington, London, the son of Marie Louise, née Grosjean, and Edward Chesterton.[8][9] He was baptised at the age of one month into the Church of England,[10] though his family themselves were irregularly practising Unitarians.[11]According to his autobiography, as a young man Chesterton became fascinated with the occultand, along with his brother Cecil, experimented with Ouija boards.