This shelf
- Books in the series
- 2
- Total words
- 150,002
- Reading time
- 8.3 h
Father Brown is the anti-Holmes: a short, unremarkable Catholic priest who solves crimes by understanding the criminal rather than by examining the scene. Chesterton wrote fifty-one stories across five collections between 1911 and 1935, and the first two are the ones that established the character.
The Father Brown collections on editions.ink are listed in order; each story is self-contained, so a reader can start anywhere and still follow the series.
Father Brown in reading order
Numbered by first publication. Word counts are estimates from the text.
| # | Year | Title | Words | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1911 | The Innocence of Father Brown | 79,000 | ~5.3 h |
| 2 | 1914 | The Wisdom of Father Brown | 72,000 | ~4.8 h |
Where to begin
Read The Innocence of Father Brown first: it introduces the priest, the French detective Flambeau and the method of moral rather than physical deduction.
The Innocence of Father Brown
The Wisdom of Father Brown
Questions readers ask
How many Father Brown books are on editions.ink?
2 titles, about 150,002 words in total, roughly 10 hours of reading.
Do I need to read them in order?
No. Father Brown stories are self-contained; the order below is the order of first publication and the easiest way to watch the character develop.
Which one should I start with?
The Innocence of Father Brown (1911), the first published title, at about 5.3 hours.
Are these the complete texts?
Yes. Each edition contains the complete text of the collection or novel, with the chapter guide and historical note on the book page.
Part of the detective and mystery shelf. Every book page carries the full text plus EPUB, AZW3 and KEPUB downloads.