Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (1870-1953) was one of the most
prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. His best
travel writing has secured a permanent following. The Path to Rome
(1902), an account of a walking pilgrimage he made from central France
across the Alps and down to Rome, has remained continuously in print.
More than a mere travelogue, The Path to Rome contains descriptions of
the people and places he encountered, his drawings in pencil and in ink
of the route, humour, poesy, and the reflections of a large mind turned
to the events of his time as he marches along his solitary way. At every
turn, Belloc shows himself to be profoundly in love with Europe and
with the Faith that he claims has produced it. Two of his best known
non-fiction works are The Servile State (1912) and Europe and Faith
(1920). Among his other works are: Avril: Being Essays on the Poetry of
the French Renaissance (1904), The Historic Thames (1907), On Nothing
and Kindred Subjects (1908), Hills and the Sea (1913), A General Sketch
of the European War (1915), and The Free Press (1917).
