Watching Father Brown

Sandra K. Sagala is an independent researcher and historian living in Pennsylvania. She has previously written two biographies of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and co-authored a book about the 1970’s TV western Alias Smith and Jones.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsPrefacePart One: Father Brown in Literature and Dramatic Media1. G.K. Chesterton and His Detective Priest2. The Many Faces of Father BrownPart Two: The BBC Production and Its Reception3. The Newest Father Brown4. The Episodes5. Despite the Critics, Success!A Final Word: A Mystery or Proselytizing?AppendicesA: G.K. Chesterton’s Father Brown Stories, Dates of First Publication, 1910–1936B: Episodes with Josef Meinrad as Pater Brown, 1966–1972 C: Episodes with Renato Rascel as Padre Brown, 1970–1971D: Episodes with Kenneth More as Father Brown, 1974E: Episodes with Andrew Sachs as Father Brown, 1984–1986F: Episodes with Ottfried Fischer as Pfarrer Braun, 2003–2014G: Episodes with Mark Williams as Father Brown, 2013–2023Chapter NotesBibliographyIndex

“This book is a fantastic resource for fans of Father Brown. …excellent…rich in background material, all well documented, and gives useful discussions of how Chesterton came to write the FB short stories as well as an historical survey of the many radio, film and TV adaptations of Chesterton's work. The bulk of the book looks at the current BBC series and provides a wealth of information on every episode. Many of the FAQs that appear on this site, such as, ‘what was Father Brown's first name’ or ‘what happened to Susie’ are answered here with correct information. I wish I had access to a resource like this when I was writing my own blog essay on the series. Congratulations Sandra Sagala!”— Pamela J Milne, Ph.D., professor emeritus, University of Windsor