The Early Journalism of G.K. Chesterton and Charles Masterman: Literature, democracy and Christianity.

This research centres on a strand of liberal journalism in the early years of the twentieth century that drew a tight link between democracy, Christianity, and literary culture. At its forefront was G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) and C.F.G. Masterman (1873-1927), regular columnists in the organs of popular and to some extent intellectual liberalism, as well as in Christian journals such as The Christian Commonwealth and The Pilot. Their contributions to The Daily News, the Liberal daily with the highest circulation, will be a prominent feature of the research. The research intends to draw out the basis of their liberal beliefs in their early association with the Christian Social Union, as well as their heavy engagement with narratives of Englishness in the wake of imperial expansion, on the one hand, and urbanisation, on the other. It seeks to highlight the cosmic reach of democracy in Chesterton's writings, especially, and his increasing sense of the limitations of organised liberalism as an instrument of democratic change. While Masterman was more heavily involved with the Liberal Party, becoming an MP in 1906 and a Cabinet minister in 1908, his early writings were also animated by an ideal of inclusivity, cultural as well as political. This was most evident in the literary reviews and essays of the two men; both turned against the recent, fin de siècle movement to embrace literary and artistic currents that were unifying rather than divisive, popular rather than elitist, and rooted in optimism rather than pessimism about the nature of human life. They were particularly concerned to turn the literature of early and mid-Victorian England to democratic advantage, pitting it against the realism of Ibsen and Zola and the pessimism of Schopenhauer in philosophy to name but two of their targets. The research will emphasise the distinctiveness of this strand of early-twentieth century Liberalism against that which was rooted in evolutionary rationalism; it will also emphasise the distinctiveness of the Liberal journalism of Chesterton and Masterman against the avant-garde stream associated with Henry Massingham, in particular.

The first aim of the research is to draw together the substantial contribution of G.K. Chesterton to the leading liberal daily, The Daily News from 1901-1913 in one, four-volume edition. This will be annotated throughout and will contain an introductory essay providing a critical framework for understanding his role as a liberal journalist. It will provide a key resource for studying political thought and spiritual belief in England in the years leading up to the First World War.

A second aim is to write two refereed articles comparing Chesterton's journalism with the work of his friend Charles Masterman before 1914. The first will compare their use of the literary essay as a vehicle for promoting their political and religious ideals. The second will consider their wider role as proselytisers for Christianity against secularism on the one hand and religious pluralism on the other in organs such as The Christian Commonwealth, The Pilot, The Nation, The Echo, as well as the Daily News. It will highlight the implications for liberalism of this engagement.
A third aim is to disseminate the research to relevant user groups interested in Chesterton, Liberal history, and the enhancement of democratic rights in the United Kingdom, particularly centred on England.

Julia Stapleton is the sole researcher. The research will mainly be carried out in Durham, with research trips to the Newspaper Library at Colindale and to Birmingham University Library, where Masterman's papers are deposited. In the preparation of the edition of Chesterton's Daily News columns, the methodology used will be that of textual compilation and exegesis. In preparing the two journal articles, comparative analysis will be undertaken of the role, beliefs and agendas of Chesterton and Masterman as journalists in a shared Liberal milieu.

The main potential users of this research beyond academia are readers of the works of Chesterton and other twentieth-century writers who defended Christianity in a context of increasing religious pluralism and scepticism, on the one hand, and philosophical pessimism, on the other. This readership includes those who admire the depth and originality of Chesterton's thought and his insights into the effects of spiritual malaise on politics and culture, without sharing his religion. Chesterton's latter-day audience is worldwide in its spread. It is kept abreast of Chesterton publishing through the communications of Ignatius Press, Gilbert Magazine, Seven ( Marion E. Wade Centre, Wheaton College), The Chesterton Review, and a network of private emails and blogs, as well as frequent gatherings across the world.

This general readership will benefit from the availability of a major new edition of Chesterton's writings that could not be easily accessed otherwise. Chesterton's contributions to the Daily News contain some of his finest writing, and the proposed edition will provide his readers with a much better impression than hitherto of the range of his concerns and the interest and unity of his thought in its formative phase. Through the columns themselves and the editorial apparatus, general readers will be better equipped to understand the challenges to personal and political liberty in the twenty-first century, and to assess the value of Chesterton's contribution to the debate on this front.

The work will be brought to the attention of readers through short articles placed in each of the above journals during 2012.
The edition itself will form a permanent repository that will impact upon generations of readers after publication in late 2011.
Another potential user would be the Liberal History Group which is affiliated to the Liberal Democrats and is interested in all aspects of the history of British liberalism. While its Journal of Liberal History is committed to scholarly research, it draws its readers (and contributors) from a broad community of liberal activists.

This group would be targeted as a potential beneficiary of the wider remit of the research in the writings of Masterman as well as Chesterton. It would draw the attention of the group to the richness of the contribution to liberal thought from developments in the early twentieth-century and the engagement of liberal writers on a variety of fronts, literary, cultural and political. This would enable the group to realise its primary aim of recovering all aspects of the Liberal past as key to maintaining the depth and integrity of Liberalism in the present.

An article will be placed in the Journal of Liberal History to maximise impact, appearing in 2012. It would form part of a permanent record with which interested individuals in the Liberal History group could engage in the future.

Further potential user-groups are those which are committed to increased political representation for England. The Campaign for an English Parliament, especially, is concerned to work with academic researchers to increase England's profile as a locus of attachment and democratic rights, both historically and in the present.

Members of the CEP would benefit by enhanced awareness of the legacy of earlier movements of thought. While they frequently draw on Chesterton's much-quoted poem, The Secret People, I would bring to their attention the wider context of Chesterton's writing, in combination with that of his friends and associates. This would enrich their understanding of the influences that have shaped English identity.

The research would be communicated via an article placed on the CEP website and a request to attend one of their conferences. I would also publicise the material on related websites such as Opendemocracy and Ourkingdom. The benefits would be realised during 2012 with the placing of articles, and afterwards through the sites' archiving facilities.