Once a prominent writer in several genres, Hilaire Belloc’s popularity declined in the last decades of his life and even more so after his death, perhaps because of his rejection of modern approaches to literature and his attachment to old-fashioned forms, notably the personal essay, but perhaps most of all because of his political views, which included militant Catholicism and what was generally seen as an extreme form of anti-Semitism. He is perhaps most remembered for his light verse featuring children such as Henry King (known for “chewing little bits of string”: Bartlett 902a) and for some haunting, elegiac lines from his more serious poetry. He is also remembered for being part of the “Chesterbelloc”, Bernard Shaw’s humorous term for the partnership between him and G.K.…

2167 words

Citation: Goldfarb, Sheldon. "Hilaire Belloc". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 February 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=348, accessed 19 March 2024.]

348 Hilaire Belloc 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.