I've pretty much always known that I would love Chesterton's books. I just have. However, this being the very first of Chesterton's books that I've read, it's official.

How on earth he managed to tell a brilliant but bloody tale in beautiful verse, I'll never know. (Also, my giddy heart filled with glee every time he rhymed a word with a name of a person or place. I don't even know why, but I really like that.)

I started this book and immediately had proof that I would love it when I read this:

"Up through an empty house of stars,
Being what heart you are,
Up the inhuman steeps of space
As on a staircase go in grace,
Carrying the firelight on your face
Beyond the loneliest star."

Which is part of the dedication to his wife.

And then there is one of my other favorite quotes:

“The men of the East may spell the stars,
And times and triumphs mark,
But the men signed of the cross of Christ
Go gaily in the dark.”

And in any case, it's a gorgeous tale, best read aloud, and I heartily recommend to all.