As it's Chesterton's birthday I'd be remiss not to re-up this blog post. One thing I've tried to convey in all my work on Father Brown is how sophisticated, searching, and strange it is: the reverse of cosy. The same applies with the demonic bestiary he assembles here to convulse an Oxford college.
Michael Shallcross@michaelshallcross.bsky.social · last yr.The sixth extract takes a long view of the current crisis in UK higher education. Focusing on the devilish role of the crank in the work of Malcolm Bradbury and G.K. Chesterton, I explore the entanglements that arise when liberal satirists mock academic institutions as a means of revitalising them.
