Henry Hitchings
Encyclopedia
Henry Hitchings is an author
, reviewer and critic
, specializing in narrative non-fiction, with a particular emphasis on language
and cultural history. The second of his four books, The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English, won the 2008 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
.
He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford
before researching his PhD
, on Samuel Johnson
, at University College London
.
's epochal A Dictionary of the English Language
(1755). The first popular account of Dr Johnson's magnum opus, it "charts the struggle and ultimate triumph of one of the first attempts to 'fix' the language, which despite its imperfections proved to be one of the English language's most significant cultural monuments". Avoiding the more usual portrayal of Dr Johnson as "a lovable eccentric", Hitchings "keeps drawing attention to the unremitting intelligence that Johnson's lexicographical labours demanded, not least in separating out the ramifying senses of common words". Whilst declaring that "Hitchings's task is to rescue Johnson from Boswell's
attentions" Will Self
pointed out "The Johnson of the Dictionary was never known to Boswell, and as the older man was ill-disposed to animadvert on his younger self, Boswell got such basics as the great man's working methods on the Dictionary glaringly wrong. Not so Hitchings".
The American edition was titled Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary.
In the United States, Defining the World won the Modern Language Association
's prize for the best work by an independent scholar in 2005.
The book was published in America under the same title the following September.
In November 2008 The Secret Life of Words won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
, the first work of non-fiction to do so for six years. The chair of the judges, Henry Sutton, described it as a landmark, vast in scope and '"written with an unnerving precision, clarity and grace", adding "amazingly accessible, it's written with great grace and enthusiasm and humour, and is also a scholarly work." The shortlist had also included the winner of the 2008 Booker Prize, The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
.
In March 2009, on the strength of The Secret Life of Words, Hitchings was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award
. In June 2009 he received a Somerset Maugham Award
.
called it a book "full of complex ideas expressed with crystal clarity", adding that "the range of Hitchings' knowledge and curiosity is remarkable". Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Charles Moore
, after praising the book as "crisply written, amusing, informative and thought-provoking", commented that "it is an agony not to be able to use English properly. Mr Hitchings eschews the rules: he can do that only because he knows them".
The book was published in America under the same title the in October 2011.
.
He has written for the Financial Times
, the New Statesman
, The Guardian
and the Times Literary Supplement, amongst other publications, and has made radio, television and festival appearances.
Hitchings was the writer and presenter of the documentary Birth of the British Novel which was first broadcast on BBC4 on Monday 7 February 2011.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, reviewer and critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
, specializing in narrative non-fiction, with a particular emphasis on language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
and cultural history. The second of his four books, The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English, won the 2008 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...
.
He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
before researching his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
, on Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Dr Johnson's Dictionary
In 2005 he published Dr Johnson's Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book that Defined the World, a biography of Samuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
's epochal A Dictionary of the English Language
A Dictionary of the English Language
Published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language....
(1755). The first popular account of Dr Johnson's magnum opus, it "charts the struggle and ultimate triumph of one of the first attempts to 'fix' the language, which despite its imperfections proved to be one of the English language's most significant cultural monuments". Avoiding the more usual portrayal of Dr Johnson as "a lovable eccentric", Hitchings "keeps drawing attention to the unremitting intelligence that Johnson's lexicographical labours demanded, not least in separating out the ramifying senses of common words". Whilst declaring that "Hitchings's task is to rescue Johnson from Boswell's
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland; he is best known for the biography he wrote of one of his contemporaries, the English literary figure Samuel Johnson....
attentions" Will Self
Will Self
William Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time...
pointed out "The Johnson of the Dictionary was never known to Boswell, and as the older man was ill-disposed to animadvert on his younger self, Boswell got such basics as the great man's working methods on the Dictionary glaringly wrong. Not so Hitchings".
The American edition was titled Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary.
In the United States, Defining the World won the Modern Language Association
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature...
's prize for the best work by an independent scholar in 2005.
The Secret Life of Words
In April 2008 Hitchings published The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English, a study of loanwords, calques and their cultural significance. Following the English language's history through "its debt to invasions, to threats from abroad, and to an island people's dealings with the world beyond its shores" the book examines its unbroken acquisitiveness—"but for all that [Hitchings'] true object is to reveal past frames of mind and to show how our present outlook is informed by the history squirreled away in the words we use". Instead of using history to explain language, Hitchings "picks words apart to find their origins" and then molds this "mountain of dense information into an elegant narrative". The Economist noted that "whatever is hybrid, fluid and unpoliced about English delights him".The book was published in America under the same title the following September.
In November 2008 The Secret Life of Words won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...
, the first work of non-fiction to do so for six years. The chair of the judges, Henry Sutton, described it as a landmark, vast in scope and '"written with an unnerving precision, clarity and grace", adding "amazingly accessible, it's written with great grace and enthusiasm and humour, and is also a scholarly work." The shortlist had also included the winner of the 2008 Booker Prize, The White Tiger
The White Tiger
The White Tiger is the debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize in the same year. The novel provides a darkly comical view of modern day life in India through the narration of its protagonist Balram Halwai...
by Aravind Adiga
Aravind Adiga
Aravind Adiga is an Indian writer and journalist. His debut novel, The White Tiger, won the 2008 Man Booker Prize.-Early life and education:...
.
In March 2009, on the strength of The Secret Life of Words, Hitchings was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award
Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award
The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award is a literary prize awarded to a British author under the age of 35 for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry...
. In June 2009 he received a Somerset Maugham Award
Somerset Maugham Award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
.
The Language Wars
The Language Wars: A History of Proper English was published in February 2011. It is "a detailed narrative of the attempts ... to make rules about how we speak and write" and "a historical guide to the sometimes splenetic battles that have been fought over English down the centuries". Craig BrownCraig Brown
Craig Brown may refer to:* Craig Brown , football player and manager* Craig Brown , British critic and satirist* Craig Brown , American curler...
called it a book "full of complex ideas expressed with crystal clarity", adding that "the range of Hitchings' knowledge and curiosity is remarkable". Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Charles Moore
Charles Moore
Charles Moore may refer to:*Charles Moore , America Olympic hurdler*Charles Moore , director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney...
, after praising the book as "crisply written, amusing, informative and thought-provoking", commented that "it is an agony not to be able to use English properly. Mr Hitchings eschews the rules: he can do that only because he knows them".
The book was published in America under the same title the in October 2011.
Who's Afraid of Jane Austen?
How to Really Talk About Books You Haven't Read, a guide to books and literary erudition, was released in October 2008. The paperback edition was given the name Who's Afraid of Jane Austen?: How to Really Talk About Books You Haven't Read.Other writing and television
In May 2009 Hitchings became the theatre critic on the London Evening Standard, replacing Nicholas de JonghNicholas de Jongh
Nicholas de Jongh is a British theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the Evening Standard from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he worked for the Guardian newspaper for almost 20 years...
.
He has written for the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and the Times Literary Supplement, amongst other publications, and has made radio, television and festival appearances.
Hitchings was the writer and presenter of the documentary Birth of the British Novel which was first broadcast on BBC4 on Monday 7 February 2011.