Book description
Here is the distinctly surreal world of Henry King, who perished
through his 'chief defect' of chewing little bits of string; of
dishonest Matilda whose dreadful lies led her to death by burning; and
of Godolphin Horne who 'held the human race in scorn' and ended as the
boy 'who blacks the boots at the Savoy'.
Here too are the beautiful lyrics of longing and loss; the sonnets
and epigrams; the hugely enjoyable Bad Child's Book of Beasts -
not to mention More Beasts for Worse Children; and The
Modern Traveller, one of the finest satirical poems in English.
Complete Verse reveals all of Hilaire Belloc's dazzling range
and makes plain why he is one of the most truly popular poets of
modern times.
Hillaire Belloc (1870-1953) was born in France, of part-French
Catholic ancestry, and educated at Newman's Oratory School and at
Balliol College, Oxford. From 1906 to 1909, and again in 1910 he was
liberal MP for Salford. He was an active journalist, literary editor of
the
Morning Post
from 1906 to 1910, founder of the
Eye-witness
(1911) and writer of innumerable essays and reviews. As well as books
of verse, he wrote on religous, social and political topics; biography;
history; travel; literary criticism; and novels. The best remembered of
his prose works include
The Path to Rome
(1902),
Mr Clutterbuck's Election
(1908),
The Serville State
(1912),
The Cruise of the Nona
(1925) and
Belinda.
(1928)
