Flambeau (character)

Flambeau is a fictional character created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton who appears in the five volumes of in total 48 short stories, of the Father Brown series. His name means "torche" in French.

He made his first appearance in the story "The Blue Cross" as a jewel thief. Father Brown foiled his attempted crimes in several stories. As a notorious criminal, Flambeau is an elusive source of worry for the law-enforcers. He is exposed by Father Brown early on, and perhaps as a result becomes a detective himself. His last appearance as a thief occurs in The Flying Stars, where Father Brown persuades him to return his loot and to give up the criminal life. He assists Father Brown as a reformed criminal in a number of other short stories, beginning with The Invisible Man.

Flambeau is an interesting and idiosyncratic character for conventional detective fiction, which tends to split humanity into the "good" and the "bad". As a priest, Father Brown has to see things in a much more graduated light, and to consider the possibility of redemption. He is Flambeau's friend before he reforms him, and this is partially how he reforms him. In 'The Secret of Flambeau' Flambeau credits Father Brown for his reformation: 'Have I not heard the sermons of the righteous ... Do you think all that ever did anything but make me laugh? Only my friend told me that he knew exactly why I stole, and I have never stolen since'.

External links

* [http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Gilbert_K_Chesterton/The_Innocence_of_Father_Brown/The_Blue_Cross_p1.html Online text] of "The Blue Cross"