The Eyewitness: An Anthology of Short Stories

Written with an eyewitness quality, these previously uncollected short stories of Hilaire Belloc transport us to realms of the past and realms of fantasy. In Belloc’s historical tales we meet Yakoub who is in Jerusalem at the time of Christ’s passion and resurrection; we witness the noble death of Charles I and the ignoble demise of Henry IV; we encounter two men of the French Revolution–one a champion of the Republic, the other a victim; we visit the battlefields of Hastings and Blanchetaque. In Belloc’s fantasies we meet with an Ogre, an Angel, an Honest Man, a Captain of Industry, the Devil, and pay a visit to Fairyland. In his fables we are warned against the hazards of authorship, the sin of avarice, the pride of intellect, and the vanity of politics. This unique volume contains 25 short stories and fables — many appearing in print for the first time since Belloc’s death over fifty years ago. The collection is prefaced by an in-depth discussion of the author’s fictional works and literary career.