Hilaire Belloc

Hilaire Belloc

Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (/hɨˈlɛər ˈbɛlək/; ; 27 July 1870 – 16 July 1953) was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters, and political activist. He is most notable for his Catholic faith, which had a strong impact on most of his works and his writing collaboration with G. K. Chesterton. He was President of the Oxford Union and later MP for Salford from 1906 to 1910. He was a noted disputant, with a number of long-running feuds, but also widely regarded as a humane and sympathetic man.

His most lasting legacy is probably his verse, which encompasses cautionary tales and religious poetry. Among his best-remembered poems are "Jim, who ran away from his nurse, and was eaten by a lion" and "Matilda, who told lies and was burnt to death".

Read more about Hilaire Belloc:  Family and Career, Writing, Religion, Sussex, In The Media

Famous quotes by hilaire belloc:

    I am living in the Midlands
    That are sodden and unkind.
    Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)

    ‘How goes it?’ Heart replied,
    ‘Right as a Ribstone Pippin!’
    Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)

    The Politician’s corpse was laid away.
    While all of his acquaintance sneered and slanged,
    I wept: for I had longed to see him hanged.
    Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)

    There is a Canon which confines
    A Rhymed Octosyllabic Curse
    If written in Iambic Verse
    To fifty lines.
    Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)

    always keep a-hold of Nurse
    For fear of finding something worse.
    Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)