Issue: Winter 2022

Composing Hymns with James McAuley

In tribute to the distinguished Australian composer and producer Richard Connolly, who died in May 2022, The Defendant reproduces his article from 2017 on writing hymns to accompany James McAuley’s poetic words.

The Unmaking of the American Experiment

In a review of Will Hoyt’s recent book on the environmental destruction of much of America’s mid-west, Garrick Small notes the relevance of Chesterton’s comment that even the most noble visions of earthly perfection will fail when they are limited to secular ideals.

Chesterton, Eugenics and Covid

A century after Chesterton published ‘Eugenics and Other Evils’, Paul Collits reveals the undiminished influence of this thinking in institutions like the UN and movements like euthanasia and abortion.

Chesterton and the Art of Translation

Karl Schmude considers the challenging art of translation in the light of Chesterton’s insights, looking in particular at Ronald Knox’s approach to the translation of the Bible.

Retracing ‘The Path to Rome’

Joseph Pearce reflects on why Hilaire Belloc’s ‘The Path to Rome’ has long been celebrated as a classic – a physical journey that is also an historical and spiritual pilgrimage.