Locality, patriotism and nationalism: Historical imagination and G. K. Chesterton's literary works (England)

G. K. Chesterton (1874--1936) was an English journalist, novelist, poet, critic, and Catholic apologist whose literary production was extensive and varied. Much has been written on Chesterton's distinctive approach to writing: the use of paradox, the attempt to see familiar things in an unfamiliar way, and a tendency to generalize that could produce inaccuracies of detail along with piercing insights. Since he wrote in a time when the writing of history was taking on a greater importance than previously, Chesterton naturally developed attitudes toward this branch of human activity.; This dissertation will examine a selection of Chesterton's novels, poetry, and literary criticism and outline the distinctive philosophy of history that emerges from these writings. Specifically, I contend that Chesterton's recurring use of the themes of locality, patriotism, and nationalism embody a distinctive understanding of what gives history its coherence. Chapter 1 provides a clarification of the terms locality, patriotism, and nationalism along with an overview of the critical commentary that touches on Chesterton's specifically historical ideas. I refer to the ideas of Hobsbawm, Gellner, and Millon-Delsol to provide a point of reference from figures in the historical profession as opposed to the literary. Chapter 2 examines the influence of Chesterton's literary predecessors William Cobbett and Sir Walter Scott along with the influence of his literary contemporaries Belloc, Shaw, and H. G. Wells. The chapter puts these influences in the context of nineteenth century historical writing with an examination of the historians Buckle, Lecky, Green, Froude, and Acton. Chapter 3 examines the way that Chesterton's philosophy of history is articulated in his literary criticism. Specifically, his studies of the Victorian Age in Literature, his criticism of Dickens and Chaucer reflect the essential role he gives to locality in the expression of distinctive qualities of the medieval and Victorian periods of English history. Chapter 4 examines Chesterton's creative writing as it expresses his philosophy of history. Three novels: The Ball and the Cross, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, and The Man Who Was Thursday, and two poems: "Lepanto" and "The Ballad of the White Horse", reflect the importance of locality as a key source of human motivation. I contend that this motivation, given expression in patriotic or nationalistic activity, is essential to Chesterton's ability to find coherence in history. Chapter 5 looks ahead to three writers who were influenced by Chesterton's philosophy of history: Christopher Dawson, Evelyn Waugh, and Marshall McLuhan. Further, I examine some of the most influential trends in the theory and practice of historiography in our own day and point out the parallels with Chesterton's approach. The study concludes that Chesterton's emphasis on locality is the hallmark of his historical philosophy in that it blends the concepts of free will, specificity, and creatureliness which he uses to make sense of history.