Belloc, Hilaire, 1870-1953

Franco-British writer.

English historian, essayist, poet and novelist born La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France July 27, 1870; died Guildford, England July 16, 1953. Belloc wrote biographies of Robespierre (1901) Marie Antoinette (1909) and numerous works on English political history. From 1920-1942 Belloc lectured widely in the U.S. and Europe. In 1925-31 he wrote his four volume History of England which contended that "religion is the determining force of society." He produced more than 150 works including history, essays, fiction and poetry.

Joseph-Pierre Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) was an historian, poet, essayist, biographer, novelist, and travel writer. He was born in Celle Saint-Cloud, a quiet suburb of Paris, in the same year the Prussian army defeated the French. After this defeat, Belloc's father and his English mother left France for England. When Belloc's father died, so did most French influences for the family, and Belloc became consummately English. Educated at the Oratory School run by John Henry Cardinal Newman, Belloc's Catholic education gave him a considerable knowledge of classical literature and history and a strong belief in religious doctrine. After brief military service as a French citizen, Belloc entered Balliol College, Oxford, in 1893. In 1896 he married Elodie Hogan of Napa, California. Verses and Sonnets (1896) and The Bad Child's Book of Beasts (1896) launched Belloc on his literary career. He was a prolific writer, publishing more than two books per year throughout his thirties, all the while teaching, lecturing, writing reviews, and pursuing a political career. His political and religious ideas were often unpopular and controversial, but his books, particularly his travel accounts, were very well-received. Until the end of his life Belloc continued to write, but after the 1920s he seldom traveled far from his Sussex home. He died July 16, 1953.

English poet.

Hilaire Belloc was an English and French novelist, poet, translator, and literary critic.

Epithet: author

Belloc was an English poet and author.

Hilaire Belloc was a talented and versatile man of letters. Born in France, he returned to England with his British mother and eventually became a citizen. He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and made his living as an author. He wrote on remarkably diverse subjects, sometimes in conjunction with G.K. Chesterton, and was perhaps most popular for his light verse. A colorful and controversial personality, he was fueled by his Catholic faith and European heritage, and held many strong prejudices. In addition to being a prolific writer, Belloc led an active and dynamic life.

Author.

English poet and author.

Hilaire Belloc, English historian and poet.

Belloc was born in France and raised in England. He attended Oxford and from 1906-1910 and served as a member of Parliament. Belloc published prolifically over the course of his life. He authored 153 books of essays, fiction, history, biography, and poetry. Many of Belloc's works reveal his strong faith in Catholicism. He died in July 1953.

Hoffman Nickerson, American historian.

Nickerson published primarily on military and religious history.

Hilaire Belloc, historian, biographer, and poet, was born in 1870. He was educated at the Oratory School, Birmingham, and Balliol College, Oxford. A prominent literary figure and Roman Catholic apologist in England during the first half of the twentieth-century, Belloc wrote more than 150 books, and scores of articles. He died in 1953.

Elizabeth Belloc, third child of Hilaire and Elodie (Hogan) Belloc, was born in 1900. She was educated at the Dominican convent at Stone in Staffordshire, where she showed talent in drawing and desired to be a painter. She also displayed some of the literary talent of her father. A published poet, several of her poems appeared in the Jesuit monthly "America". Whereas her older sister Eleanor has been described as falling under the spell of her father's charismatic personality, Elizabeth is said to have kept her father at a distance, never wholly espousing the beliefs that made up his distinct world view. After a falling out with Eleanor, she made the decision to live independently from her family. In the years that this correspondence was written, she does not appear to have settled anywhere, but continually traveled around England and the Continent. It is said that when visiting London she lived on the street, appearing at the homes of family friends to ask for handouts of food. Hilaire's concerns with his daughter's living situation can be found in his correspondence to her. He frequently opened his letters with reference to money that he had enclosed for her and with queries regarding her current address.

Hilaire Belloc, historian, biographer, and poet, was born in 1870. He was educated at the Oratory School, Birmingham, and Balliol College, Oxford. A prominent literary figure and Roman Catholic apologist in England during the first half of the twentieth-century, Belloc wrote more than 150 books, and scores of articles. He died in 1953.

James Murray Allison was born in Australia in 1877. He emigrated with his family to England in the years immediately preceding World War I to work for the "London times" as advertisement manager. At the onset of the war, Allison asked Belloc to write a weekly column for a periodical he had recently founded to cover the war effort. "Land & water" reported on the war effort exclusively and, at its peak, had a circulation of 100,000 subscribers. After the war Belloc continued to maintain close relations with the Allison family. James Murray Allison often joined Belloc on travels around the English countryside and accompanied him on a trip to the Continent where Belloc was doing field research for a work on Napoleonic battlefields. Allison kept a journal of their travels together and intended to publish it, but was prevented from doing so by his death in 1929. Belloc completed his friend's "Travel notes" and saw it through to publication. Allison's widow Elsie and son Jimmy maintained a correspondence with Belloc until his death in 1953.

Patrick C. Cahill, English author.

Cahill researched and wrote on the works of Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton. Cahill produced the first significant bibliography of Belloc, The English First Editions of Hilaire Belloc (1953).

Hilaire Belloc, English historian and poet.

Belloc was born in France and raised in England. He attended Oxford and from 1906-1910 and served as a member of Parliament. Belloc published prolifically over the course of his life. He authored 153 books of essays, fiction, history, biography, and poetry. Many of Belloc's works reveal his strong faith in Catholicism. He died in July 1953.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, English writer.

Chesterton was born in 1874, studied at the University College, and after World War I become the President of the Distributist League, an organization promoting the idea that land should be divided into the smallest possible holdings and then distributed equally throughout society. During this time, he wrote about his dislike of government and modern progress. In addition to his work with the Distributist League, he edited the literary publications The New Witness and his own G.K's Weekly. In 1922 he coverted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. After his conversion, he wrote several theologically oriented works including biographies of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Thomas Aquinas. He died in June, 1936.

British author, historian and poet.

Belloc was born in France and raised in England. He attended Oxford from 1906-1910 and served as a member of Parliament. Many of Belloc's works reveal his strong faith in Catholicism.

Mary Vessey Herbert, wife.

Herbert was the wife of Aubrey Herbert and mother of Auberon Herbert.

Auberon Herbert, student.

Herbert was the son of Mary and Aubrey Herbert. He was tutored by Belloc while he was at Oxford University. He died in 1916.

Hilaire Belloc, English historian and poet.

Belloc was born in France and raised in England. He attended Oxford and from 1906-1910, served as a member of Parliament. Belloc published prolifically over the course of his life. He authored 153 books of essays, fiction, history, biography, and poetry. Many of Belloc's works reveal his strong faith in Catholicism. He died in July 1953.