Christopher Hibbert
MC (born Arthur Raymond Hibbert; 5 March 1924 – 21 December 2008) was an English author, historian and biographer. He has been called "a pearl of biographers" (''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...
'') and "probably the most widely-read
popular historian
Popular history is a broad genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis. The term is used in contradistinction to professio ...
of our time and undoubtedly one of the most prolific" (''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
'').
Hibbert was a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...
and the author of many books, including ''The Story of England'', ''Disraeli'', ''Edward VII'', ''George IV'', ''The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici'', and ''Cavaliers and Roundheads''.
Biography
Arthur Raymond Hibbert was born in
Enderby, Leicestershire in 1924, the son of
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western can ...
H. V. Hibbert (died 1980) and his wife Maude. He was the second of three children, and christened Arthur Raymond.
He was educated at Radley College in
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
before he went up to
Oriel College
Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
[ He was awarded the degrees of BA and later MA.
He left Oriel College to join the ]Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, where a sergeant major referred to Hibbert as "Christopher Robin
Christopher Robin is a character created by A. A. Milne, based on his son Christopher Robin Milne. The character appears in the author's popular books of poetry and ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' stories, and has subsequently appeared in various Disney ...
" (of ''Winnie the Pooh'' books) based upon his youthful looks. The name "Christopher" subsequently stuck. During World War II, Hibbert served as an infantry officer in the London Irish Rifles
The London Irish Rifles (LIR) was a reserve infantry regiment and then company of the British Army. The unit's final incarnation was as D (London Irish Rifles) Company, the London Regiment. On 1 April 2022 soldiers in the company transferred ...
regiment in Italy, reaching the rank of captain. He was wounded twice and awarded the Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC i ...
in 1945.[
From 1945 to 1959, he was a partner in a firm of land agents and auctioneers,][ and began his writing career in 1957.][ Hibbert was awarded the Heinemann Award for Literature in 1962 for ''The Destruction of Lord Raglan''.]
Personal life
Hibbert lived at Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckin ...
, Oxfordshire, and was a member of the Army and Navy Club
The Army and Navy Club in London is a private members club founded in 1837, also known informally as The Rag.[Garrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in the heart of London founded in 1831. It is one of the oldest members' clubs in the world and, since its inception, has catered to members such as Charles Kean, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, A ...]
. He was married to Susan Piggford and the couple had three children: his literary executor Kate Hibbert, television writer Jimmy Hibbert
James Christian Hibbert is an English actor and writer. He is best known for his voice work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall Films.
Early life
James Christian Hibbert was born as the eldest of three children of author Christopher Hibber ...
and music journalist Tom Hibbert.[
He died on 21 December 2008, in Henley, from bronchial pneumonia at the age of 84.]humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
ceremony in Oxford, on 2 January 2009.[ Subscription needed.]
Works
* ''The Road to Tyburn'' (New World, 1957)
* '' King Mob'' (Longmans, 1958)
* ''Wolfe at Quebec'' (Longmans, 1959)
* ''Corunna'' (B. T. Batsford,1961)
* ''The Destruction of Lord Raglan
''The Destruction of Lord Raglan: A tragedy of the Crimean War, 1854–55'' is a non-fiction historical work by Christopher Hibbert, originally published by Longman in 1961. The work is a portrait of Lord Raglan, commander-in-chief of British for ...
'' (Longmans, 1961)
* ''Benito Mussolini'' (Longmans, 1962)
* ''The Battle of Arnhem'' (B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1962)
* ''The Roots of Evil
''The Roots of Evil'': ''A Social History of Crime and Punishment'' is a book written by Christopher Hibbert in 1963 which traces the development of the social justice system, mostly from an English perspective, though information about the cont ...
: A Social History of Crime and Punishment'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1963)
* ''Agincourt'' (Batsford, 1964)
* ''The Court at Windsor'' (Longmans, 1964)
* ''Garibaldi and his enemies'' (Longmans, 1965)
* ''The Making of Charles Dickens'' (Harper & Row, 1967)
* ''Waterloo'' (New English Library, 1967)
* ''Highwaymen'' (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1967)
* ''London, the Biography of a City'' (Longmans, Green & Co., 1969)
* ''Charles I'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1968)
* The Grand Tour (Viking, 1969)
* ''The Search for King Arthur'' (American Heritage, 1969)
* ''The Dragon Wakes'' (Harper & Row, 1970)
* ''The Personal History of Samuel Johnson'' (Longmans, 1971)
* ''Tower of London'' (Newsweek eries: ''Wonders of Man'' 1971)
* ''Edward: The Uncrowned King'' (The History Book Club, 1972)
* ''George IV'' (Vol 1: Longman, 1972; Vol 2: Allen Lane)
* ''The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall'' (Morrow, 1975)
* ''Versailles'' (Series: ''Wonders of Man'', 1975)
* ''Edward VII: A Portrait'' (Allen Lane, 1976)
* ''Social History of Victoria Britain'' (Book Club Associates, 1974)
* ''Disraeli and his World'' (Thames and Hudson, 1978)
* ''The Great Mutiny: India, 1857'' (Allen Lane, 1978), as Penguin Pocketbook: 1980, .
* ''The Court of St James's: The Monarch at Work from Victoria to Elizabeth II'' (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1979)
* ''The French Revolution'' (Penguin, 1980) .
* ''Africa Explored'' (Allen Lane, 1982)
* ''Chateaux of the Loire'' (Series: ''Wonders of Man'', 1983)
* '' The London Encyclopaedia'' with Ben Weinreb (Macmillan, 1983)
* ''Rome, the Biography of a City'' (Norton, 1985)
* ''Cities and Civilizations'' (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1986)
* ''The English: A Social History'' (Grafton, 1987)
* ''Venice: The Biography of a City'' 1988 google.ca listing
* ''The Encyclopaedia of Oxford
''The Encyclopaedia of Oxford'' is an encyclopaedia covering the history of Oxford in England.
The book was published by Macmillan in 1988 (). It was edited by the Oxford-educated historian Christopher Hibbert with the help of the associate ed ...
'' (Macmillan, 1988)
* '' Redcoats and Rebels'' (Grafton, 1990)
* ''The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age'' (Addison–Wesley, 1991)
* ''Florence: Biography of a City'' (Norton, 1993)
* ''Cavaliers & Roundheads: The English Civil War, 1642–1649'' (HarperCollins, 1993)
* ''The Story of England'' (Phaidon Press, 1994)
* ''Nelson: A Personal History'' (Penguin, 1994)
*
* ''Wellington: A Personal History'' (Da Capo, 1997)
* ''George III: A Personal History'' (Penguin, 1998)
* ''Queen Victoria: A Personal History'' (HarperCollins, 2000)
* ''The Marlboroughs: John and Sarah Churchill 1650-1744'' (Viking, 2001)
* ''Napoleon: His Wives and Women'' (HarperCollins, 2002)
* ''Great Battles: Agincourt'' (Phoenix new edition 2003)
* ''Disraeli: A Personal History'' (HarperCollins, 2004)
* ''Disraeli: The Victorian Dandy Who Became Prime Minister'' (Palgrave Macmillan, New York City 2006) .
* ''The Borgias and Their Enemies: 1431–1519'' (Mariner Books, 2009)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbert, Christopher
1924 births
2008 deaths
People from Enderby, Leicestershire
People educated at Radley College
Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford
English humanists
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
British military historians
Military personnel from Leicestershire
British Army personnel of World War II
Recipients of the Military Cross
London Irish Rifles officers
Deaths from pneumonia in England
Historians of the American Revolution
Historians of the French Revolution
Historians of the Napoleonic Wars
Historians of England
English encyclopedists
20th-century English historians
English biographers