Ball And The Cross

Ball and the Cross

by Gilbert K. Chesterton

The Ball and the Cross is G. K. Chesterton's third novel. In the introduction Martin Gardner notes that it is a "mixture of fantasy, farce and theology." Gardner continues: "Evan MacIan is a tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed Scottish Highlander and a devout Roman Catholic.... James Turnbull is a short, red-haired, gray-eyed Scottish Lowlander and a devout but naive atheist.... The two meet when MacIan smashes the window of the street office where Turnbull publishes an atheist journal. This act of rage occurs when MacIan sees posted on the shop's window a sheet that blasphemes the Virgin Mary, presumably implying she was an adulteress who gave birth to an illegitimate Jesus. When MacIan challenges Turnbull to a duel to the death, Turnbull is overjoyed. For twenty years no one had paid the slightest attention to his Bible bashing. Now at last someone is taking him seriously! Most of the rest of the story is a series of comic events in which the two enemies wander about seeking a spot for their duel." MacIan and Turnbull become friends as they protect each other from interference from the modern world, which has trivialized their views over life's most important question (the existence of God) and outlawed their honorable duel. The irony is heightened when they both fall in love with ladies who happen to hold to their opponent's deepest convictions. Professor Lucifer and a Bulgarian monk also play important roles in this perennially relevant story. (Summary by Matthew Heckel)

Authors

Gilbert K. Chesterton image

Chesterton wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, some 200 short stories, 4,000 essays (mostly newspaper columns), and several plays. He was a literary and social critic, historian, playwright,...

Books by Gilbert K. Chesterton

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

Избранные (Из жизни маленьких людей) Cover image

Избранные (Из жизни маленьких людей) by שלום עליכם Sholem Aleichem

This book, written by a prominent Yiddish author, offers a satirical look at the lives of “small people” – ordinary individuals from a small town – wh...

History of Emily Montague, Vol. IV Cover image

History of Emily Montague, Vol. IV by Frances Moore Brooke

Set in the aftermath of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, *History of Emily Montague* provides a glimpse into the nascent British colony of Quebec...

The Belton Estate  Cover image

The Belton Estate by Anthony Trollope

The Belton Estate is a novel by Anthony Trollope, written in 1865. The novel concerns itself with a young woman who has accepted one of two suitors, t...

Leopard's Claw Cover image

Leopard's Claw by George W. Ellis

Leopard's Claw is a captivating novel set in the lush and perilous West African jungle. It follows a complex love story amidst the backdrop of a capti...

Tristan and Iseult Cover image

Tristan and Iseult by Arthur Symons

"Tristan and Iseult" is a vibrant and intense stage adaptation of the classic Celtic legend by Welsh poet and playwright Arthur Symons. This compellin...

Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge Cover image

Aufzeichnungen des Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke

Malte Laurids Brigge, a young Danish poet, arrives in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. As he wanders the city, he records his observations and r...

Green Forest Fairy Book Cover image

Green Forest Fairy Book by Loretta Ellen Brady

This volume compiles original fairy tales penned by Loretta Ellen Brady. Each story takes readers on a journey through enchanted forests, where they e...

Iracema, the Honey-Lips: A Legend of Brazil  Cover image

Iracema, the Honey-Lips: A Legend of Brazil by Jose de Alencar

The story revolves around the relationship between the Tabajara indigenous woman Iracema and the Portuguese colonist Martim, who was allied with the T...

Yellow Butterflies Cover image

Yellow Butterflies by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews

The title of this historical fiction could as well have been "A Soldier’s Mother" or “An Unknown Soldier”. There are indeed butterflies, and there is...

homme à l'oreille cassée Cover image

homme à l'oreille cassée by Edmond About

L'homme à l'oreille cassée est une œuvre satirique d'Edmond About qui suit les aventures d'un colonel français, ressuscité après un long sommeil. Aprè...

Reviews for Ball and the Cross

No reviews posted or approved, yet...