#sherlock masterpiece mystery

[bodybybane]

The Cast of Sherlock: Where Are They Now? https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/specialfeatures/the-cast-of-sherlock-where-are-they-now/

[itsawritblr]

Vincent Price and PBS' "Mystery!"

Some of you don't remember when Vincent Price hosted PBS' Masterpiece Mystery! for several years.

Here he is with the intro to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes starring Jeremy Brett (IMO best Sherlock ever) , and the original Edward Gorey animated intro, which I wish to god they'd bring back.

[niakila]

Mysteries I’ve watched entirely

Psych

Murdoch mysteries

Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries

Grantchester

Miss Scarlet and the Duke

Miss Marple 2003

Scream Queens

Veronica Mars

Grimm

Pushing Daisies

Agatha Raisin

Endevour

Queens of Mystery

Vienna Blood

Penny Dreadful

Miss fishers Modern Murder Mysteries

Bones

Frankie Drake Mysteries

Professor T

Houdini and Doyle

Madame Blanc

Sleepy Hollow

Dead Still

The Woman in White

Harry Wild

Partners in Crime 2015

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans

Dr Blake Mysteries

The Witness for the Prosecution

Ordeal By Innocence

The Pale Horse

Backstrom (US)

Dead Like Me

The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window

Year of the Rabbit

Partial Watch

Poirot

Death in Paradise

Death Comes to Pemberly

Supernatural

Lucifer

The X Files

Elementary

Monk

Vera

Father Brown

Brokenwood Mysteries

Republic of Doyle

Midsommar Murders

Sherlock

The Glades

[cellorondo]

The more “Classically-Trained-String-Instrument-Night-Circus-Piano-Melody” sounding the intro music is, the better the fictional crime drama show will be. And that’s just science.

[servuscallidus]

Oh and there are a lot of couples that love and trust each other completely and are very sweet, and often the woman had a troubled past or is unconventional and the man respects that completely

[electricmeatorchestra]

I won’t pretend Sherlock, the show that ran for three series and then was mysteriously cancelled without a word, is a masterpiece, but you can’t deny that Holmes describing eyeball tea as “surprisingly okay” is very funny

[morsesnotes]

Does anyone else sometimes wonder why Endeavour wasn't a bigger deal? I'm not really complaining because if it was at Sherlock levels that would be too much, but I just think about the first time I saw it. My parents were watching Pylon on Masterpiece Mystery, and it blew my mind. The beautiful cinematography, the music, the characters, the story, and yes even with the stache I could tell Shaun was attractive under there, lol. I kept thinking "How...have I never heard of this before?? This is incredible???"

And that was S6! The consistency it had was seriously impressive for how long it went on, the length of each film, and only having one writer.

Something about it is different from any detective show I've seen before. You can feel the amount of love which went into every part of it, and it often does the opposite of what you'd typically expect.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this but I feel like it deserves more appreciation than it gets, and I hope people will keep discovering it now there won't be any new seasons coming out. I think there's a lot of people who'd love it but have no idea it exists.

[babyleostuff]

For a prolific writer like you ( and I know you've got mad skills because I like a stalker went through your blog and with each ask you write good stuff, hitting the feelings right and all) do you have a book recommendation? Your discography of writing is so vast and profound and for each character ( and we all know there's 13 reactions you have to nail every time ,)you must have read an ocean fill to be deeply inspired to write this well.

Sincerely how the hell do you nail quality WITH quantity this well ?

In other words... you're Uhmazeing

first of all THANK YOU SO MUCH this literally made me go 🥰🥲🥳😍💜🥹. complements like these always make me shed a tear (in a good way ofc).

AND DO I HAVE A BOOK RECOMMENDATION??? OH HONEY I DO!!!! (literature and writing are basically my whole life).

you didn't specify which genre you're interested in so let me give you some options <3

CLASSICS

picture of dorian grey, dracula, psycho, animal farm, pride and prejudice, little women, the handmaid’s tale

CRIME/ MYSTERY

the only crime and mystery i enjoy reading is sir arthur conan doyle and agata christie, so sherlock holmes and hercules poirot is just chefs kiss (and their books are such wholesome, short, to the point novels that i can’t imagine someone not liking them)

if i had to pick my fav tho „then there were none” has to be one of my all time favourites, it’s so so good

FANTASY (ISH)

the song of achilles, the invisible life of addie larue, a court of thorns and roses, electric idol + radiant sin, the ex hex, kingdom of the wicked, these violent delights, serpent & dove

SPORTS SERIES

(F1) dirty air [don’t get discouraged by the first book], (hockey) off-campus, (american football) the wall of winnipeg and me [not that huge fan of this in particular, but idk maybe you like american football]

OTHERS

the housekeeper and the professor, a little life, the secret history, if we were villains, a dowry of blood, little fires everywhere, radio silence + loveless

TIK TOK (it hurts me that a genre like that even exists)

twisted series, check & mate + the love hypothesis, the spanish love deception, love redesigned (an actually good tik tok(ish) book), kings of sin series, dreamland billionaires series, archer’s voice

i think that’s the best i can do for now (and i realise that not all of those recommendations are masterpieces and classics of literature, but sometimes you just need a book with bad writing and poor plot).

i hope you’ll find something for yourself! 🫶🏼

[maul-of-shame]

I always see you posting Elrondriel fics and saying you have stuff coming up so just wondering, how many of them do you have planned?

Ngl Anon I read "I always see you plotting Elrondriel" and that made me chuckle XDDD

SO GLAD YOU ASKED!! Currently I have a lot of AUs, some in the works, some currently out and some drafted entirely!

My current AUs:

The Hunger Games/TROP: "Gilded Choices: The Reaping of Stars" A multi-chapter juggernaut already reaping attention on AO3. Two sequels and one prequel are coming because who doesn’t love a good Games binge? (Prequel = Nimue and Gil's turn to play with fire.)

The Witcher/TROP: "Of Tides and Sorrows" Already available on AO3! Shorter multi-chapters planned, but there’ll be a flood of them because when it rains (sorrows), it pours. Geralt with TROP vibes? Consider me tossed a coin.

Shadow and Bone/Grishaverse/TROP AU: “Enter the Fold” of this seven-chapter masterpiece in progress. The Elrondriel angst? So perfectly gut-punching, it should come with a warning. (Shadow and bone-chillingly good!)

Frozen AU: Do you wanna build a ship? The potential here is snowballing. (Also, “Let It Go” but make it Elrondriel: chef’s kiss.)

Pride and Prejudice/TROP AU: Three chapters of delicious Elrondriel angst so far. It’s Darcy-level dramatic, but I can’t decide if I should keep dancing at this Netherfield Ball or let it rest.

Tangled Elrondriel AU: I mean, Elrondriel in Tangled, aka "Best Day Ever"? Yes, Mother Knows Best, and I know this fic is spinning into one of my favorites.

Umbrella Academy AU: Sometimes, you just need the giggles. Add Elrondriel to the Hargreeves mess, and you get chaos that’s number one.

Kingsman Elrondriel AU: I suited up and teased this in the server recently. This fic is all charm, wit, and sharp-edged banter—just the way Manners Maketh Fanfic.

Sherlock AU: Elrondriel but make it Victorian. I’m solving crimes and shipping feels one mystery at a time.

The Musketeers AU: I'm French bestie, so of course, this exists. One for all and all for Elrondriel! (C’est la fic vie! 🥖🗡️)

"My Lady Jane" AU: Elrond looks like Guilford, and I look like someone who could not resist. Hilarity, history, and a heads-up—this one’s royally fun.

Pirates of the Caribbean AU: POTC AUs are my rite of passage. Elrondriel meets swashbuckling? You better believe me, you scallywags.

“Keeping up with the House of Finarfin” (Kiddos and Teens Edition): Nine stories waiting to be edited because who needs a peaceful family dinner when you can have teen chaos and Elrondriel parenting goals?

Five Elrondriel Smut Pieces: These are currently hidden because shy me is winning, but Fallout!me and Star Wars!me posted +15k smut like it was a light saber duel. Stay tuned, maybe?

Probably More Random Fics: Let’s just say my WIP folder is a fandom black hole. Apologies for the chaos (but not really).

[philtstone]

you’re actually making me want to watch psych…any tips/anything I should know going in?

another fallen soldier...

ok i will take this ask actually seriously

things 2 know:

it's early 2000s sherlock holmes, so it has cop stuff. shawn and gus are not cops but everyone else is. if u cant watch that without getting upset or frustrated then its not for you.

of its time (2006) so some of the jokes are outdated. its main characters are men & the other characters function as extensions and foils for their adventures, so while juliet is an amazing character and i absolutely love her, she is not a main character. most of her plots are experienced thru shawn's pov, because he is the main character. if you go in expecting differently, you will be disappointed

imo psychs most genuine L is its mental health language. again, if u take that to heart/will be upset by certain outdated terms, not for u

psych is a story about an honest liar. its easy to forget this, bc its a silly goofy show and shawn has very good intentions, but psych is all about duality and grey areas. going into it assuming that your main characters are morally pure, emotionally mature people will end in disappointment and frustration

while it is technically a dramedy, it is UNSERIOUS. really and truly. shawn basically has superpowers. he is not a real boy. many forget this.

its obviously made with so so much love. for this reason i tend to forgive it almost everything

tips for watching!

psych is long. i dont think i have ever watched it start to finish in full chronological order. because it has so many filler eps (murder mystery of the week basically!), you can skip around if you dont have patience for 8 full seasons of network tv. if you are worried about time sink or getting bored, i would start with the pilot, watch spellingg bee, then start skipping fillers and only watch the best episodes in your first watch. heres me and my brother's tier list for best episodes (to be clear, tier C is like. average good psych episode. everything above tier C ranges from very fun to iconic masterpiece):

hopefully thats legible and not totally useless lol. its also a subjective list, so others may not agree! id also definitely bring "forget me not", "poker? i barely know her!", "the greatest adventure in the history of basic cable", "daredevils", and "gus's dad may have killed an old guy" up into tier B ... i hadnt rewatched them properly when we made this list lol. all excellent eps.

anyway .... did i take this ask way too seriously? yes. dont ask me how i got here. i dont care to unpack it all

enjoy!

[weast-of-eden]

hi hello are you busy tonight? yeah didn’t think so. do you like victorian era johnlock? yes i thought so. want to read a wip masterpiece? exactly. read this fic

The Adventure of the Purloined Heart by ladyblahblah

murder mystery pining AND competent watson discussions of male prostitution in 1880s literally what else could you ask for.

[rosyfingered-moon]

2023 drama roundup

Unchained Love: I still hum the unhinged flute intro on a regular basis, easily my fave intro of 2023! I didn't actually finish the show due to dwindling interest, but for the first 14 episodes or so I took a keen pleasure in it (and it made me go on a eunuch webnovel spree, expertly curated by @mercipourleslivres). I love it when heroines are allowed to be truly funny, rather than just quirky or ditzy. Also appreciate the goofy Lamp Prince turning into a brutal incel tyrant the moment he got power.

Six Flying Dragons: I don't think I can write anything succinct enough for the roundup format so I direct you to my "my sfd tag" if you want to access my enthused livetweeting. Show of all times, lives were changed.

Tree with Deep Roots: I literally can't think of a better topic for a tv show than Sejong the Great constructing hangul together with his band of nerds, one of whom he has a weirdly intense, vaguely erotic relationship with. Han Suk-kyu carried this entire show on his trembling shoulders. What an actor! What range!!! It was such a treat to watch him smugly debate his ministers, roleplay a farmer, and hiss half-mad soliloquies to himself in the dark. It took nuance and depth to portray the kind of inner conflicts and generational trauma that Sejong battles in the background of this drama. To be honest I didn't always enjoy the Milbon subplot which I felt got repetitive, and often found myself wanting to fast-forward the wuxia scenes. In a better world the show would have centered the whip-smart palace maids and their alphabet workshops. But I will definitely rewatch this soon. And maybe also write a fix-it where Sejong and Soo-yi fuck idk.

Quartet: Cute little murder mystery about a found family of freaks, liked it a lot.

My Country: The New Age: As entertaining as ever. Very fun to rewatch this back to back with Tree with Deep Roots, since Jang Hyuk plays diametrically opposite characters with the same vigor and commitment.

Gone with the Rain: Sometimes you watch something which you understand is technically a masterpiece but it doesn't do anything for you, and sometimes you watch a piece of campy silly fun and it makes you tingle with joy. This was the latter category for me. I liked the first and middle parts enough to make up for the lukewarm fizzle of an ending.

The Autumn Ballad: Has some fucked up elements that are difficult to stomach, but the parts that are good are really good.

Not Others: Bingeable! But imo they could have cut out the stalker/murder cases and just focused on the excellent family drama.

The Matchmakers: This surprisingly swooped in towards the end of the year as my favorite comedy of 2023, all thanks to a rec by @haraxvati. I adore Cho Yi-hyun in this role!!! She is so hot as a shrewd matchmaker with a fake mole and a twinkle in her eye. Love the virgin prince with his yearning-induced panic attacks (Rowoon didn't work for me in The King's Affection in a quite similar role, but he's so much weirder and lamer here, which is something I like in a man). I am obsessed with the side plot of the crossdressing romance novelist and the solemn police officer who is trying to capture her and ends up giving her free home renovations and smouldering looks instead. Also, Park Ji-Young and Lee Hae-Young are two of my favorite villain actors on their own, and here they are married!! Still have a few episodes to go, but I intend to binge them as soon as I post this.

Dramas I dropped or paused:

Our Blossoming Youth: I shipped the heroine and her cute maidservant a little too much to bear the dull prince they stuck her with. But I might rewatch it some day bc I want to write a Sherlock Holmes fic for the girls.

Little Women: A real disappointment, because I love Louisa May Alcott and I love Jeong Seo-kyeong. Once again, letting the women kiss might have solved much of it.

Island: Casting Kim Nam-gil as an expressionless cool-guy action hero offends me personally. (Yes Song of the Bandits I'm giving you the stinky eye also.) But Lee Da-hee and Cha Eun-woo were delightful!

See you in my 19th life: I couldn't, even for my most darling Shin Hye-sun, go beyond episode 1. There's something about a kid dating another kid even though she's a literal adult inside her brain that I can't really vibe with.

My Dearest: I do intend to finish this, but I lost the thread after the first half. It got a little too dark for me I think.

[user-needs-new-hyperfixation]

Can I ask from this ask game : https://www.tumblr.com/toomanyfandomsthings/749729499738996736/send-me-a-ship-and-a-number-and-ill-tell-you?source=share

No. 2, 10, 11, 12, 15 for Sherliam, Albert/Mycroft and HuaLian.... Thanks 🌻

2. What their love letters look like

Sherliam: I think while they were separated before they came back to London they probably wrote a fair amount (though that might have been complicated by Sherlock being on the move so much.) Some of their letters were long and sentimental and filled with the kind of stuff that prompts a historian 150 years later to call them "besties." Other times it was just telegraphs like: arrived safely STOP terrible weather the whole trip STOP miss your butt.

Mycal: Albert writes long poetic love letters in beautiful penmanship and Mycroft is very dry and droll and they're both incredibly pretentious in their own ways.

Hualian: They never write love letters because they're always together, they have a telepathic private chat even when they're not, and Xie Lian can't read Hua Cheng's handwriting. 😂😂😂

10. What TV shows they watch together, and which ones they hide from the other

Sherliam: They like to watch NatGeo documentaries and mystery shows together. Sherlock is pretending he doesn't like Dateline and William is pretending he doesn't like Hallmark Channel movies.

Mycal: they watch The Great British Bake Off together. Albert hides that he cries over soap operas and Mycroft is inexplicably secretive about his love of PBS Masterpiece Theatre.

Hualian: (with the caveat that I'm referencing all western shows, I don't know Chinese TV, I'm sorry!) They watch grumpy detective shows together. Hua Cheng secretly watches HGTV and rants about the decorating choices. Xie Lian secretly watches kids' cartoons.

In every set of couples, they are all actually entirely aware of and endeared by their partner's "secret" faves.

11. What their first impression was of each other

I think we have this pretty well established in canon for both Sherliam and Hualian, but I do wonder about Mycal, because I have the (perhaps entirely wrong lol) impression that the first time we see them interact is not the first time they do interact. I imagine their first meeting as polite but with a bit of a strange edge to it: some recognition in both of them that this is someone to Keep An Eye On. Cautious but intrigued.

12. What they do for their anniversary

They are all basic bitches who plan to just go out for a nice dinner and exchange gifts and then have a bunch of sex. However, Mycal are the only ones who actually manage this without Shenanigans and Escapades along the way. Sherliam and Hualian both have anniversary stories involving things like getting lost and getting robbed and accidentally solving a murder and breaking a bone and having a near death experience.

15. What they would change about each other

Sherliam: Sherlock would (and did!) change William's self-loathing. William would (and also probably did at least to a degree) change Sherlock's smoking and drug habits.

Mycal: Mycroft would also change Albert's self-loathing. (It's a work in progress.) Albert would want Mycroft to be a little more open about his emotions.

Hualian: they would both want the other to stop sacrificing themselves. They're getting there.

[trekbait]

Upcoming holonovel releases this month!

Catch the latest entertainment, available soon at your local holosuite!

Captain Proton Versus the Zombies of the Stratosphere!

Tom Paris’ latest instalment in his Captain Proton series has Proton face off against undead alien invaders who seek to swap their dying planet’s location for Earth’s warm orbit. It is down to you to stop them from throwing Earth away into the cold void of space with the power of atom bombs!

Vulcan Love Slave, Volume VII: T’Hot in Prison

Fresh off Ferenginar’s anonymous erotic presses, this latest tale from the Vulcan Love Slave series sees T’Hots thrown into a barbaric Breen prison where she must “bond” with her fellow female inmates to plan an escape. Can she distract the attention of the cold and mysterious Breen guards to allow her comrades in chains to melt away the ice walls of their cells with their physical activity? (Please note this programme may be restricted in some Starfleet holodecks; check before you download)

Human

The first Exocomp-written holonovel follows the crew of the all-Exocomp science ship Omortson who come across a derelict spaceship in an uncharted asteroid belt. The brave Exocomps mistakenly release a creature from stasis, a deadly and aggressive Human who starts to stalk and murder the crew within their own vessel. Can you survive and ensure the Human doesn’t escape the ship onto other worlds?

Sharknado Attack!

When a freak hurricane swamps San Francisco, thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged Starfleet Command. Pyblic Domayne HoloProductions previously became famous for adapting classic Human works like Dixon Hill, Sherlock Holmes, Beowulf and Shakespeare. With the recent craze for Human stories from the early 21st century they’ve been adapting that era’s golden classics such as Bubba Ho-Tep, 50 Shades of Grey, The Emoji Movie and Daddy Day Camp. Sharknado is celebrated as one of the great works of the era and this is the best adaptation of the work to date!

An Eye for a Golden Lady

Felix’s Secret Agent series continues as you are sent on a mission to retrieve the kidnapped daughter of the Japanese emperor. As you travel across ancient Earth in style, uncovering a vast criminal arms conspiracy, all our nuclear war is on the line! But you'll still find time to seduce the princess and sample the local martinis.

Photons Be Free: The Opera

The Doctor, from Voyager, has adapted his tale of photonic servitude for those more musically inclined. The 5-hour-long operatic masterpiece will have you singing along (autotuned if necessary) with the characters as you play an abused holographic slave to an evil crew. The locations are redesigned to be more abstract like stage dressing and, based on the quality of your performance, expect a round of applause for your performance!

[formulaorange]

Fall 2023 Anime Review

The 24 episodes series this season are popping off. Honestly one of the better seasons for anime that we've had in a few years.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (1/2) - 16/28 Episodes This show almost feels like a fever dream. There's a fuzziness to the animation style that also gives it a ghibli vibe. Definitely one of the more memorable and important fantasy series out there. It has something about it that gives it more of a deeper meaning than other series and definitely feels like each episode is it's own piece of a puzzle. 10/10 - Masterpiece

The Apothecary Diaries (1/2) - 12/24 Episodes I wasn't sure what to expect from this series but I thoroughly enjoy it so far. I ended up going ahead and reading the manga because I wanted more content. Just a fun medical mystery type show with some goofy scenes and bits of almost romance? Looking forward to more episodes in the future. 8.5/10 - Very Good +

Shangri La Frontier (1/2) - 12/25 Episodes I genuinely enjoy this series. It does have a bit of an SAO vibe initially but it moves past that real quick. I think it's one of the more enjoyable series for people who actually enjoy and appreciate video games. Overall, the game itself just looks like a lot of fun and you can tell the mc is enjoying it too. 8/10 - Very Good

Shy - 12 Episodes I don't know why people aren't into this series. I think it would definitely have done better had it come out during the peak of hero shows but it still hits. I think it's a really well done story and the animations are also satisfying. Reminds me a little of Justice League or Young Justice. Honestly a fun watch. 8/10 - Very Good

SpyxFamily - Season 2 - 12 Episodes This show never disappoints. Each episodes is just as entertaining as the first season and I don't feel like a single episode has been wasted so far. I'm still very much looking forward to future content. 8.5/10 - Very Good+ Dr. Stone - Season 3 - 11 Episodes For some reason I always seem to put off watching this series but as soon as I get into it, it's so worth it. Definitely still holding up to the pilot season and I'm just as stoked for future seasons. Solid consistency. 8/10 - Very Good The Eminence In Shadow - Season 2 - 12 Episodes This had such a banger first season. Definitely just a fun show for me that I try not to look into too much when watching. Has straight forward fun protagonist and the story hasn't flopped so far. 7.5/10 - Good+ Ron Kamonohashi's Forbidden Deductions - 13 Episodes The first few episodes come off as a cheesy Sherlock spoof but it definitely takes off on the later cases. It becomes less overall about the cases but the combo of the two and the different situations they end up in. By the end of the season I felt like the cases they worked were fun and interesting and I liked the character building. 7/10 - Good My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-rank Adventurer I gave this 3 episodes. Honestly I think ending it at episode 3 was fine.. The story feels weak but it's a nice short story if you watch the first 3 episodes and don't care the whole demon lord plot. 5/10 - Average The Rising of Shield Hero - Season 3 - 12 Episodes I got through about 4 episodes and really enjoyed it and then it just went downhill. It turned into some kind of monster raising anime with a side of shield hero. I initially dropped it but decided to come back and finish it because i'm still attached to the overaching story for some reason. I found the last 3 episodes were decent and did add to the overall story but I still had such a rough time in the first 3/4. 4.5/10 - Less than Average Goblin Slayer - Season 2 - 12 Episodes I was so disappointed by this show. I honestly can't remember how the first season ended but I don't feel like it needed this season. Felt much more like the standard harem isekai with very little interesting aspects to the story. Not to mention the whole elf incest story line they threw in there. Definitely won't be coming back for a 3rd season. Had a really hard time getting through this one. 3.5/10 - Bad/Very Bad

[fictionadventurer]

I saw your post from 2020 about your Four Quadrants and I absolutely love them! I have wanted to get into Chesterton for a while but have never actually done it bc I have no idea where to start. I decided that you’d be likely to know where I should start based solely on my relating so much to the rest of what your post said. Do you have recommendations?

There are several answers to this question, depending on what type of writing you're interested in, because Chesterton wrote in a lot of different formats.

Novels: My favorite (and the one that feels most "Chestertonian" in the sense of embracing the joys and paradoxes of modern life) is Manalive, which is about a boarding house full of disaffected young people whose lives are upended by the arrival of the energetic and eccentric Innocent Smith, who may or may not be a dangerous lunatic. I'm also fond of his first novel, The Napoleon of Notting Hill, which is set in the far future of 1984, where the actions of two eccentric guys get London caught up in medieval warfare. That book addresses Chesterton's common theme of the tension between taking life too seriously and not taking it seriously enough, but it is a very odd book that's a bit more of an acquired taste.

Short stories: Chesterton's most enduring legacy in pop culture is the Father Brown mysteries--one of the few detectives at the time that wasn't just a Sherlock Holmes clone. These stories are half mystery and half philosophical essay, and I love them (and they're nothing like the TV show). I always tell people to start with the first collection, The Innocence of Father Brown, because the first four stories there--"The Blue Cross", "The Secret Garden", "The Queer Feet" and "The Flying Stars"--form an arc that should be read in chronological order, and the rest of the stories can be read in pretty much any order.

Poetry: Chesterton's big achievement is "The Ballad of the White Horse", a novel-length epic poem about the legends of King Alfred the Great and his war against the Danes. But if you don't feel like reading something so long, his other masterpiece is "Lepanto", a stirring poem about the Battle of Lepanto that saved Europe from a Turkish invasion (though that one is much better if you know the historical context). He also wrote this short, rather biting anti-war poem "Elegy in a Country Churchyard".

If you want something not about war, Chesterton was known for his love of Christmas, and he wrote several excellent Christmas poems, including "A Christmas Carol", "The Wise Men", "Gloria in Profundis", "Joseph" , and "A Child of the Snows".

(As long as we're talking about Christmas poems, I'm going to mention that his wife, Frances, was also a poet, and she wrote a Christmas poem every year for their family Christmas card, which include, "How Far Is It To Bethlehem" and "The Shepherds Found Thee By Night".)

Essays: Tremendous Trifles contains several of the humorous, insightful essays that are among the first things I think of when I think of the Chestertonian mindset, including "A Piece of Chalk", "The Advantages of Having One Leg", and "On Lying in Bed" . Perhaps my favorite Chesterton essay, "On Running After One's Hat" isn't in this collection, but feels like it should be.

Nonfiction: "Orthodoxy" is probably Chesterton's most famous and most accessible religious book, which outlines the worldviews that led him to embrace Christianity.

This last recommendation doesn't fit into any of the categories, but I can't finish a Chesterton introduction post without begging you to read this letter he wrote to his wife, Frances, not long after their engagement, because it may be one of the best love letters ever written.