William Blake

G. K. Chesterton

May 2005 · Cosimo, Inc.

About this ebook

n this exceptional work, produced as part of a series of literary biographies throughout the 1920s, author G.K. Chesterton directly addresses the question of whether William Blake's genius was tainted by mental illness or whether part of the key to his success was his idiosyncratic perspective.An impressive chronicler of Blake's life, Chesterton weaves well-reasoned descriptions of Blake's unusual philosophy into a dialogue on his work, producing a remarkably sensitive biography of one of the towering figures of world literature.AUTHOR BIO: Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was born in London. Though he considered himself a mere "rollicking journalist," he was a prolific and gifted writer in virtually every area of literature. A man of strong opinions, and enormously talented at defending them, he possessed an exuberant personality that nevertheless allowed him to maintain warm friendships with such literary eminences as George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells�with whom he often vehemently disagreed. During his life he published nearly 70 books, and at least another ten have been published since his death in 1936.

About the author

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London, England, in 1874. He began his education at St Paul's School, and later went on to study art at the Slade School, and literature at University College in London. Chesterton wrote a great deal of poetry, as well as works of social and literary criticism. Among his most notable books are The Man Who Was Thursday, a metaphysical thriller, and The Everlasting Man, a history of humankind's spiritual progress. After Chesterton converted to Catholicism in 1922, he wrote mainly on religious topics. Chesterton is most known for creating the famous priest-detective character Father Brown, who first appeared in "The Innocence of Father Brown." Chesterton died in 1936 at the age of 62.