Henry Hitchings (born 11 December 1974) is an author, reviewer and critic, specializing in narrative non-fiction, with a particular emphasis on

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and cultural history. The second of his books, ''The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English'', won the 2008

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdo ...

and a Somerset Maugham Award. He has written two books about

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and has served as the president of the Johnson Society of Lichfield. As a critic, he has mainly written about books and theatre. As of 2018, he is chair of the drama section of the UK's Critics' Circle.

Life

He was a King's Scholar at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

before going to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

, and then to

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

to research his PhD on

Books

''Dr Johnson's Dictionary''

In 2005 Hitchings published ''Dr Johnson's Dictionary: The Extraordinary Story of the Book that Defined the World'', a biography of

's epochal ''

A Dictionary of the English Language ''A Dictionary of the English Language'', sometimes published as ''Johnson's Dictionary'', was published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson. It is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language. T ...

'' (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, "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 The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

'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 A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...

, 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 itchings'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

, the first work of non-fiction to do so in 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 Aravind Adiga (born 23 October 1974) is an Indian writer and journalist. His debut novel, '' The White Tiger'', won the 2008 Man Booker Prize. Biography Early life and education Aravind Adiga was born in Madras (now Chennai) on 23 October 1974 ...

. 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.

''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''.

''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". 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 in October 2011.

''Sorry! The English and their Manners''

Hitchings's fifth book, ''Sorry! The English and their Manners'', was published in January 2013. Writing about it in the ''Guardian'', Ian Sansom commented that its research offered "a kind of restless, wandering, burrowing through history and ideas" and that the book "reveals ... the kind of writer Hitchings really is: an overseer, guardian, wise man, guide."

''Browse''

In 2016 Hitchings edited a collection of original essays about bookshops, with the title ''Browse: The World in Bookshops''. Its contributors included Alaa Al Aswany, Stefano Benni,

Michael Dirda Michael Dirda (born 1948) is a book critic for the '' Washington Post''. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993. Career Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree in 1970, Dirda took an M.A. in 1974 ...

Daniel Kehlmann Daniel Kehlmann (; born 13 January 1975) is a German-language novelist and playwright of both Austrian and German nationality.Andrey Kurkov,

Yiyun Li Yiyun Li (born November 4, 1972) is a Chinese-born writer and professor in the United States. Her short stories and novels have won several awards, including the PEN/Hemingway Award and Guardian First Book Award for ''A Thousand Years of Good Pra ...

, Pankaj Mishra, Dorthe Nors, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Ian Sansom,

Elif Shafak Elif Shafak ( tr, Elif Şafak, ; born 25 October 1971) is a Turkish-British novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist and activist. Shafak writes in Turkish and English, and has published 19 works. She is best known for her ...

, Iain Sinclair,

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 Au ...

, Sasa Stanisic and Juan Gabriel Vasquez.

''The World in 38 Chapters, or Dr Johnson's Guide to Life''

In June 2018 Hitchings published his sixth full-length book, returning to the subject of his first,

. Jane Darcy, writing in the

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

, explained that "The book’s subtitle, Dr Johnson’s Guide to Life, may evoke that popular sub-genre of self-help books which co-opt historical celebrities to present tips for the modern world, but Hitchings, like his favourite author, has a serious moral purpose. Despite his often breezily demotic tone, he is deeply attuned to Johnson’s melancholy, tracing its presence throughout his adult life and its influence on his thinking about pain and suffering", and commented that "Hitchings inevitably revisits familiar places and favourite quotations. But the pleasures of this book lie in Hitchings’s fresh re-evaluation of them".

Other writing and television

In May 2009 Hitchings became the theatre critic on the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', replacing

Nicholas de Jongh Nicholas de Jongh is a British writer, theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he had worked for ''The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British dail ...

. He left this role in 2019, after more than ten years, following cost-cutting at the paper. He has written for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', the ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' and the ''

'', 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

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

on Monday 7 February 2011. He had previously been a featured contributor to the documentary ''Samuel Johnson: The Dictionary Man'' in 2006. He became 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, ele ...

in 2015. In 2018 he took up the position of president of the Johnson Society of Lichfield; he was succeeded by

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitchings, Henry 1974 births Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of University College London Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners Living people British theatre critics