One of the most popular and enduring of the fictional detectives, G.K. Chesteron's Father Brown first appeared at the end of the first decade of the Twentieth Century. Unlike Sherlock Holmes, who was driven by logic and deduction, Father Brown was guided by instinct and an understanding of human nature, both its good and bad aspects.

Father Brown would appear in more than fifty short stories which would be gathered together into five collections. He has made the transition to film, radio and TV. In the past he has been played by Alec Guinness and Kenneth More, and is currently played by Mark Williams in the ongoing BBC1 series.