Hilaire Belloc Biography

Hilaire Belloc was a writer, orator, poet, and historian of Anglo-French origin. He was deeply religious and held a strong Catholic faith which was often reflected in many of his writings. A prolific writer, he wrote many poems, fiction, essays, biographies, and a great many letters. His works covered a variety of genres ranging from children’s literature, to history and economics. He had a deep interest in politics and served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for Salford South for five years. He had strong views against capitalism and was a member of the Fabian society, a socialist debating group. He came into contact with well known authors like George Bernard Shaw and H.G.Wells who helped him in getting jobs in the literary circle. He was an aggressive debater who during his later years became disillusioned with the concept of socialist reforms; his anti-socialist views are well depicted in his book ‘The Servile State’. A versatile writer, he wrote novels like ‘A Change in the cabinet’ and ‘Pongo and the Bull’. He also wrote works of history and economics, which were critically acclaimed, though his undisputable claim to fame was the children’s book ‘Cautionary Tales for Children’ for which he is best known. He wrote in a simple, clear and concise style, avoiding excessive usage of idioms and aphorisms.