St. Francis of Assisi

By: G. K. Chesterton

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Saint Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. This acclaimed biography of Saint Francis examines the life of a pure artist, a man "whose whole life was a poem". Here is the Saint Francis who prayed and danced with pagan abandon, who talked to animals, and who invented the crèche. Yet Francis also acknowledged the mystic responsibility to communicate his divine experience. Chesterton examines the existence of the pure eccentric and the devout mystic in one man, offering an understanding of Saint Francis in both body and soul. It has been said that G. K. Chesterton converted to Catholicism in 1922 because "only the Roman Church could have produced a Saint Francis of Assisi".

This biography, published shortly after Chesterton's conversion, is universally considered the best appreciation of Francis' life, one that gets to the heart of the matter.

©1923 Gilbert Keith Chesterton. © renewed 1951 by Oliver Chesterton (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Beautiful blending of a great book and an exceptional reader!

Do not hesitate—buy this book. Not only is Chesterton’s book worthy of our attention, but also Mr. Vance is the perfect narrator for this book. A beautiful spiritual and literary resource.

lovely book

I have listened to this one many times. it is one of my favorites! chesterton is my fav

Excellent short book on the wife of Saint Francis

This is a fun and great little book by Chesterton on the life of Saint Francis. The narration is excellent, and overall it is a good, though short, listen.

Overall, a bit wordy

But she has an interesting perspective on Saint Francis’s life and context. Considered one of the seminal biographies.

well read, and a different view of St. Francis

leave it to Chesterton to find a great new take on this saint! greater reader too!

Quick introduction to St. Francis

I like Chesterton, and much of this was good introduction to St. Francis; however, it is a little heavy on explaining his method for approaching the writing, rather than the writing itself.

Not enough about Francis!

The book was interesting and well narrated, however, Chesterton seems to assume that I already know quite a bit about Francis. I got the book to learn about Francis but the bulk of the book is Chesterton setting up a defence of his views on Francis as well as a critique of other contemporary writers on the subject of Francis and the church and miracles. More Francis please!

Sublime story written by a sublime mind

Chesterton never stops surprising us.
Short book but full of enigmas and sentences that are far from my ordinary mind to conceive understanding. Still the little I’ve got made it unforgettable.

An introductory, well thought, biographical sketch

The author describes this as a primer on St Francis. I call it an introductory, well thought, biographical sketch. The man who initiated a new order that is still alive today, was a poet and naturalist. I could picture him preaching to animals and humans alike. The audio of this text was helpful, but I believe a sit down read in the outdoors would be the best for enjoying this text.

St Francis of Assisi

This book surprised me. It was not what I expected. The format is similar to defending your theists hitting upon events that occurred to the society around St Francis. It provided me a mindset as to how saints should be studied but not the meat I desired.