The article examines in detail the significance of the astonishment in the work of G. K. Chesterton. In literary studies, this aspect of his work has never been considered in detail. The research material was essays, short stories, literary biographies, novels and treatises of the English writer. The interrelation of astonishment with the motives of miracle, joy, love, paradise is shown. In connection with the motive of astonishment, the author touches on the paradox technique, which is significant for the author. The polemic of Chesterton with modern literature, in particular, with the literature of realism, is investigated. The motive of astonishment is revealed in detail in the article on the example of the novels "The Return of Don Quixote" and "The Man is Alive". In the work of G. K. Chesterton, the motif of astonishment is one of the central ones. It is inextricably linked with the motive of the miracle. The world for the writer is a miracle, acutely experienced in comparison with non-existence. Surprise at the world is an integral part of Chesterton's worldview, which he himself called "the fairy godmother's philosophy." For Chesterton, not only extraordinary things are amazing, but also ordinary things. His characters, discovering the familiar world anew, share their perception with others. The newly found world is often revealed through love, which is inextricably linked in Chesterton's work with the motive of astonishment.