Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in Kensington, London, in 1874. He attended St Paul's School then went on to study illustration at the Slade School of Art before embarking on a career as a writer and journalist. He wrote a weekly column in the Daily News, then one in the Illustrated London News which ran for thirty years. He also established his own paper, G. K.'s Weekly, writing much of the content himself.
Chesterton was a prolific author of novels, stories, essays, and plays. A renowned wit, he was asked by the BBC to deliver a series of radio talks in 1931. They proved so popular that he continued the series until his death in 1936.