New acquisition in Rare British Literature

Thanks to the generous support of the Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library, Special Collections has acquired a presentation (inscribed and signed by the author) copy of G.K. Chesterton’s second book, The Wild Night and Other Poems (1900).  Chesterton is perhaps best known today for his Father Brown detective stories, but he was a prolific author of hundreds of books and poems and over 4000 essays, who tackled such topics as literary criticism, politics, and theology.  His work has influenced such writers as C.S. Lewis and Neil Gaiman, and his biography of Charles Dickens (1903) is credited with reviving popular and critical interest in Dickens’ work.  Special Collections has first editions of nearly all of Chesterton’s books and plays, and this inscribed copy is a wonderful addition to our collection of Edwardian Literature.