The Club of Queer Trades

A collection of related short stories by British author G. K. Chesterton. Each story is centered on a person who is making his living by some novel and extraordinary means (a "queer trade"). To gain admittance to the Club, one must have a unique queer trade as principal source of income. "Cherub" Swinburne describes his quest for The Club of Queer Trades with his friend Basil Grant, a retired judge, and Rupert Grant, a private detective who is Basil's younger brother. Each of the stories describes their encounter with one of the trades. In the final story, Rupert Grant rescues a lady from her kidnappers but cannot understand why she refuses to be rescued. The answer leads to the unveiling of the mystery of The Club of Queer Trades. First published by Harper & Brothers, London, 1905. *The Tremendous Adventures of Major Brown While investigating a case of assault brought by Major Brown, Rupert Grant, the private detective, and his brother Basil stumble upon the Adventure and Romance Agency, Limited, an agency that creates adventures for its clients. *The Painful Fall of a Great Reputation Basil Grant investigates Wimpole, the great raconteur. *The Awful Reason of the Vicar's Visit "Cherub" Swinburne is asked to investigate the mysterious assault on the Vicar of Chuntsey. *The Singular Speculation of the House-Agent Basil Grant investigates the mystery of Lieutenant Keith, whose house, "The Elms", Buxton Common, cannot be found. *The Noticeable Conduct of Professor Chadd Basil Grant finds out why Professor Chadd insists on dancing.