I thoroughly enjoyed this submission as I am a great fan of English detective mysteries including Father Brown. I've read four of the five collections, missing only "The Wisdom of Father Brown." (I'll now look for that too.) Chris is correct that the current TV version is far from the texts. But there is a previous TV version, aired in 1974 starring the late Kenneth More as the Father. It does not strictly follow the books either -- it makes the thief Flambeau into a friend and private eye of the priest. But in its presentation of Father Brown, it is more authentic. [See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Brown_(1974_TV_series)]
Btw, I am preparing a SubStack of my own on (mostly) English detective books and TV versions.
Thanks for the comment, Jerry, and it's interesting to know about the Flambeau innovation in the earlier series. And great to hear you will be opening a Substack- let me know when and I will happily subscribe!
Even by your high standards, Chris, this is exemplary. It felt like having a glass of wine with a well informed friend . I had no idea of the Borges connection , always minded to seek out Chesterton and now you have convinced me I should.
Cheers, Gordon, I appreciate that and am very happy you found Part 1 interest- I hope that Part 2 in one week will also be entertaining. To me, Chesterton is one of those mystery authors who is better in the original just due to the originality of his language and conception of the world. Most detective series (like David Suchet's epic portrayal of Poirot) seem to more amenable to the cinematic as the characters stand out more than the writing. Since Father Brown is always in the way, and in the background, the character never has the chance to take the same stature for any actor. But Chesterton's writing too is so different from any other genre writer I have encountered... I am sure whatever genre he had chosen to specialize in would have been marked with success, but this was a particularly clever one ideally suited to both his contemporaneous market and his personal friends and relations.
I thoroughly enjoyed this submission as I am a great fan of English detective mysteries including Father Brown. I've read four of the five collections, missing only "The Wisdom of Father Brown." (I'll now look for that too.) Chris is correct that the current TV version is far from the texts. But there is a previous TV version, aired in 1974 starring the late Kenneth More as the Father. It does not strictly follow the books either -- it makes the thief Flambeau into a friend and private eye of the priest. But in its presentation of Father Brown, it is more authentic. [See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Brown_(1974_TV_series)]
Btw, I am preparing a SubStack of my own on (mostly) English detective books and TV versions.
Thanks for the comment, Jerry, and it's interesting to know about the Flambeau innovation in the earlier series. And great to hear you will be opening a Substack- let me know when and I will happily subscribe!
Even by your high standards, Chris, this is exemplary. It felt like having a glass of wine with a well informed friend . I had no idea of the Borges connection , always minded to seek out Chesterton and now you have convinced me I should.
Cheers, Gordon, I appreciate that and am very happy you found Part 1 interest- I hope that Part 2 in one week will also be entertaining. To me, Chesterton is one of those mystery authors who is better in the original just due to the originality of his language and conception of the world. Most detective series (like David Suchet's epic portrayal of Poirot) seem to more amenable to the cinematic as the characters stand out more than the writing. Since Father Brown is always in the way, and in the background, the character never has the chance to take the same stature for any actor. But Chesterton's writing too is so different from any other genre writer I have encountered... I am sure whatever genre he had chosen to specialize in would have been marked with success, but this was a particularly clever one ideally suited to both his contemporaneous market and his personal friends and relations.