The Trees of Pride

Name: The Trees of Pride
Author: G.K. Chesterton

The Trees of Pride is a collection of short stories by G.K. Chesterton. The book includes eight tales that explore themes of pride, humility, and the human condition. Each story features unique characters and settings, but all share a common thread of examining the consequences of prideful behavior.

By G.K. Chesterton · First published 1922 · Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Gothic · 4 chapters · 34,806 words

First lines

Squire Vane was an elderly schoolboy of English education and Irish extraction. His English education, at one of the great public schools, had preserved his intellect perfectly and permanently at the stage of boyhood. But his Irish extraction subconsciously upset in him the proper solemnity of an old boy, and sometimes gave him back the brighter outlook of a naughty boy. He had a bodily impatience which played tricks upon him almost against his will, and had already rendered him rather too radiant a failure in civil and diplomatic service. Thus it is true that compromise is the key of British policy, especially as effecting an impartiality among the religions of India; but Vane's attempt to meet the Moslem halfway by kicking off one boot at the gates of the mosque, was felt not so much to indicate true impartiality as something that could only be called an aggressive indifference. Again, it is true that an English aristocrat can hardly enter fully into the feelings of either party in a quarrel between a Russian Jew and an Orthodox procession carrying relics; but Vane's idea that the procession might carry the Jew as well, himself a venerable and historic relic, was misunderstood on both sides. In short, he was a man who particularly prided himself on having no nonsense about him; with the result that he was always doing nonsensical things. He seemed to be standing on his head merely to prove that he was hard-headed.

What this Textopian page supports

The Trees of Pride is listed on Textopian as a short story by G.K. Chesterton, dated 1922 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Short story
Author: G.K. Chesterton
Date: 1922 CE
Language: English
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Gothic, Philosophical, Satire
Length: 34,806 words
Structure: 4 chapters, 382 paragraphs
Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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Similar titles

Genres

Mystery — The plot revolves around a mysterious illness and the investigation into its cause.
Fiction — The narrative is a work of fiction with imaginative storytelling.
Gothic — The story includes elements of the supernatural and a dark, foreboding atmosphere.
Philosophical — The text explores themes of pride, belief, and skepticism.