One of the most famous authors of the 20th century, Gilbert Keith Chesterton—colloquially known as G. K. Chesterton—was born in Kensington, England, in 1874. Baptized into the Anglican Church as an infant, his family were rather nominal Christian observers. In his youth, Chesterton dabbled in the occult and considered himself to be an agnostic. Chesterton married Frances Blogg in 1901, but the couple were never able to have children. His wife would later push him back toward regular Christian observance, and in 1922 (at the age of 48), he would enter the Roman Catholic Church as a devout believer.

Out of university, Chesterton began work at a publishing house, and several years later, he became a full-time journalist as an essayist and critic of the arts. Though he would be employed as a journalist for the rest of his life, he is most well-known for his prolific work as a writer of novels and essays. Authoring scores of books, his most famous works include Heretics, Orthodoxy, The Man Who Was Thursday, and The Everlasting Man. Additionally, his series of short stories centering around the character of Father Brown—a Catholic priest who solves mysteries—is one of the more popular mystery series of the 20th century.