Hilaire Belloc
Life and Works
Hilaire Belloc was born in St. Cloud near Paris in 1870. He was the son of Louis Belloc, a French barrister. His mother Elizabeth Rayner Parkes was the daughter of the Birmingham radical, Joseph Parkes. Although she was converted to catholicism from unitarianism, she remained a political radical and was a strong supporter of women’s rights.
The Belloc family shifted to England when Hilaire was only two years old. He received his education at the Oratory School, Birmingham. Then he got himself enlisted in the French Army. Belloc returned to England in 1892 and took admission at Ballial College, Oxford. He graduated with a first class honours degree, but was disappointed when he was not given a fellowship. Convinced that he had been rejected because of his catholic religious views, he went on a lecture tour of the United States. He also got two books of verse published A Bad Child’s Book of Beasts (1896) and Verses and Sonnets (1896).
Belloc returned to England in 1902 and became friends with George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells who helped him obtain work with the newspapers such as the Daily News and The Speaker. Later on he became literary editor of the Morning Post.
In 1906, Belloc moved to Shiplay and became the liberal candidate for South Salfard and in 1906 General Election. He was elected to the House of Commons. But he was not pleased with his political career. He was particularly upset by the Government failure to repeal the 1902 Education Act.
Belloc served in the capacity of a Journalist for various papers. He brought out his book The Party System in 1911. In it he attacked the political establishment. He became editor of the political weekly. The Eye witnessed of which over 100,000 copies were sold over a week.
In 1912 he published The Servile State. In it he attacked welfare programmes such as social insurance and minimum wage levels.
Belloc was also a successful novelist. He wrote the following novels : Mr. Clutterbuck’s Ebetion (1908), A Change in the Cabinet (1909), Ponge and the Bull (1910), The French Revolution (1911) and The History of England (1915), The Two Maps of Europe (1915), Roman Catholicism Europe and Faith (1920). Belloc also published a series of historical biographies–Oliver Cromwell (1927), James II (1928), Richelien (1930), Wolsey (1930), Cranmer (1931), Napolean (1932) and Charles II (1940).
In 1942, Hilaire Belloc suffered a stroke. He remained ill for eleven years and died on 16th July, 1953.
हिलेरी बेलोक : जीवन परिचय एवं कृतियाँ
जीवन परिचय- Hilaire Belloc का जन्म Paris के निकट St. Cloud में 1870 में हुआ था। वह एक French बैरिस्टर Louis Belloc का पुत्र था। उसकी माता का नाम Elizabeth Ragner Parkes था। वह Birmingham radical Joseph Parkes की पुत्री थी। यद्यपि उसने Roman Catholic मत स्वीकार कर लिया था वह राजनैतिक रूप सेradical रही थी तथा स्त्रियों के अधिकार की महान् समर्थक थी।
जब Hilaire Belloc दो वर्ष का था तो परिवार England आ गया। उसने अपनी आरम्भिक शिक्षा Oratory School Birmingham में प्राप्त की थी। उसके पश्चात् वह फ्रांस सेवा में भर्ती हो गया। 1892 में वह England लौटा तथा Ballial College Oxford में प्रवेश ले लिया। उसने प्रथम श्रेणी में स्नातक परीक्षा उत्तीर्ण की परन्तु जब उसको fellowship नहीं दी गयी तो वह निराश हो गया। वह अमेरिका गया तथा वहाँ उसने व्याख्यान दिये। उसकी कविता की दो पुस्तकें भी प्रकाशित की-A Bad Child’s Book of Beasts (1896) एवं Verses एवं Sonnets (1896).
Belloc 1902 में England लौटा और वह George Bernard Shaw एवं H.G. Wells का मित्र बन गया जिनकी सहायता से उसे Daily News एवं The Speaker जैसे समाचार पत्रों से कार्य मिलने लगा। बाद में वह The Morning Post समाचार-पत्र में साहित्यिक सम्पादक बन गया।
1906 में Belloc, Shiplay चला गया तथा South Salford के लिए Liberal Party का उम्मीदवार बन गया तथा 1906 के General Election में संसद के House of Commons का सदस्य चुना गया। परन्तु वह अपने राजनैतिक जीवन से प्रसन्न नहीं था। वह विशेष रूप से इस बात से खिन्न था कि सरकार 1902 के Education Act को समाप्त करने या वापस लेने में असफल रही थी।
Belloc ने विभिन्न समाचार-पत्रों के लिए पत्रकार के रूप में कार्य किया। 1911 में उसने अपनी पुस्तक The Party System प्रकाशित की। इसमें उसने राजनैतिक संस्थानों की आलोचना की।वहराजनैतिक साप्ताहिक पत्र The Eye Witnessed का संपादक बन गया जिसकी एक लाख से अधिक प्रतियाँ एक ही सप्ताह में बिक गयीं।
1912 में उसने The Servile State प्रकाशित की। इसमें उसने कल्याणकारी प्रोग्राम जैसे कि सामाजिक बीमा तथा न्यूनतम मजदूरी की आलोचना की।
Belloc एक सफल उपन्यासकार भी था तथा उसने एक दर्जन उपन्यास लिखे जिनके नाम निम्नलिखित हैं-
Mr. Clutterbuck’s Election (1908), A Change in the Cabinet(1909), Pongo and the Bull (1910), The French Revolution (1911) तथा History of England (1915), The Two Maps of Europe (1915), Roman Catholicism Europe and Faith (1920). Belloc ने ऐतिहासिक जीवन कथाओं की एक श्रृंखला भी प्रकाशित की। Oliver Cromwell (1922), James II (1928), Richelien (1930), Wolsey (1930), Cranmer (1931), Napolean (1932) एवं Charles II (1940). 1942 में Hilarie Belloc बीमार पड़ा तथा ग्यारह वर्ष बीमार रहने के पश्चात् 16 जुलाई, 1953 में उसकी मृत्यु हो गयी।
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