Episode 51. Hilaire Belloc

SYNOPSIS

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953), Catholic apologist, polemicist, politician, author and poet, was, with his friend, G.K Chesterton, one of the most vocal and trenchant critics of secular materialism. in the early decades of the twentieth century. In 1908, their frenemy and intellectual sparring partner, the playwright and Fabian, George Bernard Shaw created an image of the Chesterbelloc, “a very amusing pantomime elephant” whose purpose was to lead the assault upon the modern, collectivist state.

Shaw pointed out, quite rightly, that Chesterton and Belloc had very different backgrounds. Hilaire was born near Paris and his residence in England only resulted from national and family tragedies: the Franco-Prussian War and the death of his father, then compounded by the loss of the family inheritance through a stockbroker’s incompetence. His widowed mother, Bessie, was cultivated, well-connected and strong-willed, having converted to Roman Catholicism. Yet the family were forced to live in genteel poverty at Slindon in rural Sussex. These reversals left their mark on Belloc for good and ill: the sense of being an outsider, a deep love of the countryside, specifically Sussex, Stoicism in the face of suffering, and a simple, almost peasant-like Catholic faith.

The episode explores Hilaire Belloc through the chapter headings of Chris Hare’s book, concentrating upon the light and shade of Belloc’s personality, his enduring faith, the classic 1912 book, The Four Men, his short-lived political career, the death of a son in each World War, and his courageous acceptance of ageing.

GUESTS

Chris Hare has been reading and studying the works of Hilaire Belloc since he was a teenager. He runs the heritage consultancy, History People UK, and shares the love Belloc had for the history, geography and seascapes of Sussex. Between 2017 and 2020 Chris managed the Belloc, Broadwood and Beyond Project, funded by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. His book, Hilaire Belloc: The Politics of Living was published in 2022.

Simon’s interview with Chris Hare was recorded in Worthing on 13 August 2024.