Gilbert Keith Chesterton (May 29, 1874 – June 14, 1936) was a man of many faces. At face value, an author; but in the folds, a philosopher; a literary, art, and social critic; a Catholic theologian; a writer of mysteries; a historian; a debater; a poet; an apologist. He wrote around 80 books, several hundred poems, around 200 short stories, 4,000 essays, and several plays. He is often referred to as the “prince of paradox,” thanks to his propensity to take popular sayings, proverbs, and allegories and turn them on their heads. G.K. Chesterton has influenced many great men in his life, notably J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. His greatest works include his Father Brown detective stories, novel The Man Who Was Thursday, and theological works Heretics and Orthodoxy.