Also known for his Father Brown mystery stories and his poetry, this English author was one of the most prolific writers of the early twentieth century, penning essays and books on such subjects as literature, history, social commentary, and Christianity. My first and last philosophy, that which I believe in with unbroken certainty, I learnt in the nursery. The things I believed most then, the things I believe most now, are the things called fairy tales. They seem to me to be the entirely reasonable things. Compared with them religion and rationalism are both abnormal, though religion is abnormally right and rationalism abnormally wrong.
Fairyland is nothing but the sunny country of common sense.
This was at one with all popular tradition. Just as we all like love tales because there is an instinct of sex, we all like astonishing tales because they touch the nerve of the ancient instinct of astonishment. Mere life is interesting enough. A child of seven is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door and saw a dragon. But a child of three is excited by being told that Tommy opened a door.