From Library Journal

In this spiritual biography of the English social commentator and author, most memorably, of the Father Brown mysteries, English author Pearce focuses primarily on Chesterton's conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1922. Pearce goes on to celebrate Chesterton's happy childhood and family life, successful marriage, and friendships with Hilaire Belloc, George Bernard Shaw, and other Victorian and 20th-century writers. Also detailed are Chesterton's social and political activism as well as his romanticism and childlike joie de vivre. Pearce draws copiously from Chesterton's published writings and correspondence and from previous biographies, notably those by Maisie Ward, Michael Coren, and Michael Ffinch. Indeed, 26 pages of endnotes demonstrate the heavy reliance of the author on these sources. The result is a marginal offering that may be considered for religion collections and for those specializing in minor English authors of the early 20th century.

Wisdom And Innocence is the astonishing biography of an astonishing man -- G. K. Chesterton. Chesterton was a journalist, essayist, biographer, poet, novelist, and playwright. He debated with all the great names of his day, disdaining conventionality, championing the Liberal cause and prophesying the wars and catastrophes that the century would witness. A modern intellect, he strove for integrity, his religious faith and conversion to Catholicism affecting every area of his life and profoundly influencing others. Joseph Pearce has done his research thoroughly and well, bringing to the reading public a superb biography containing information and material heretofore unknown about one of the truly influential men of his time -- G. K. Chesterton.