Reception of the Middle Ages in the novels “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” and “The Return of Don Quixote” by G. K. Chesterton

This article examines the reception of the Middle Ages in G. K. Chesterton’s novels “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” and “The Return of Don Quixote”. The purpose of our research is to identify the range of ideas and concepts that influenced G. K. Chesterton’s reception of the Middle Ages in his novels. The scientific originality of this work lies in its detailed examination of the influence of the social and aesthetic concepts of Augustus Pugin, John Ruskin and the Pre-Raphaelites on the artistic development of these novels. The study found that the themes, images, and motifs of the novels “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” and “The Return of Don Quixote” were greatly influenced by the social and aesthetic concepts of Augustus Pugin, John Ruskin and their followers, who belonged to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. However, Chesterton’s artistic conception of the Middle Ages, evolving from “The Napoleon of Notting Hill” to “The Return of Don Quixote”, differs from the Pre-Raphaelites’ approach in that its significant element is its relationship to the Christian faith and in this it is closer to the views of A. Pugin.