249:. Although his mother had many children, only four lived to adulthood. Hilton began working at an early age: at nine he worked before and after school as a "barber's lather boy and later as a grocer's errand boy." At twelve, he worked half time at a cotton mill as a "doffer" – a term used for young boys who replenished the spindles used by the older cotton spinners. He left school at fourteen and worked various jobs until joining the army at sixteen. During the war he was injured in France, at which point he returned to Rochdale and became a plasterer. He remained a plasterer for the rest of his life and was an active member of the plasterers' union, which he joined in 1924. In June 1922, he married Mary Jane Parrott, a cotton mill worker. Mary would continue to work in local cotton mills for the duration of their marriage.
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regions and cities such as
Sheffield, Leicester, the Potteries and Birmingham; the home counties by way of Epsom and Buckinghamshire; and Bristol, Stroud and Devon in the west country." Throughout the journey they visited working-class districts and interviewed workers in various industries about their working and living conditions. The couple camped in a tent on the side of the road, occasionally staying in the homes of fellow union members. The couple returned to Rochdale in October 1938, at which time Jack wrote up his notes from their journey. His account of their trip was published in 1940 as
299:
523:, Hilton criticised the book, claiming that although Orwell "went to Wigan...he might well have stayed away" as he only "wasted money, energy and wrote piffle." Hilton claimed that Orwell "wanted to get at the pith but didn't know how, and failed," and as a result he produced "colour that wasn't worth the paint mixes." He blamed Orwell's failure partially on his inability to blend in with the working-class communities he visited, being a "tall, ex-officer type,
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in 1942. His youngest brother, Stanley Hilton, died at sea in 1941, when the trawler Arctic
Trapper, on which he was a stoker, was attacked by German planes and foundered. After the war, Hilton struggled to get his work published. Nevertheless, he continued writing throughout his life and published
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about writing a travel narrative, offering him a £50 advance to fund the trip and £50 upon completion of his book. Hilton accepted the proposal, and in May of that year he and his wife Mary packed their belongings in a large pram and spent six months walking through "northern and midland industrial
167:
to probe the relation of events in his life - and the lives of his characters - to the feelings and attitudes of himself and his subjects. His writing was also unconventional at the time of its publication for its proud but critical depictions of working-class people and settings, centring on his
594:
hoping to find any living relatives of Hilton's, but was unsuccessful. More recently, other scholars have tried to find the copyright holder for Hilton's works so they can be republished. Following the discovery of the copyright holder of Hilton's catalogue, his work is set to be republished
501:
in 1935. He praised Hilton for treating his "subject from the inside," providing his readers a "vivid notion of what it feels like to be poor", and accurately portraying the "voices of the innumerable industrial workers whom he typifies." Before travelling north to begin his research for
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praised Hilton's ability to "see the world...through the eye of the artist as well as that of the artisan," and concluded that "Mr Hilton, with his zest for life, his honesty, humour and his angry outspokenness, has come very near to putting his finger upon the true pulse of
England."
265:, and was arrested at an NUWM demonstration. He was held in prison for twelve days, then released on the condition that he not speak in public for three years. During this time of enforced silence, he finished his first book,
343:
Hilton's father, George Hilton, died in 1952, and his wife Mary died on 11 February 1955. He married his second wife, Beatrice Alice
Bezzant on 14 July 1956. Neither marriage produced children. Hilton died in Oldham.
199:, Hilton was barred by a magistrate from involvement in the organisation of future protests or political actions with the NUWM. He turned to writing instead, and soon afterwards a tutor of his at the
530:
Despite this disagreement, Orwell and Hilton continued corresponding and reading each other's work. "Orwell reviewed
English Ways enthusiastically in the
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852:
508:, Orwell wrote to Hilton asking for advice and lodging on his trip. Hilton was unable to provide him lodging, but suggested that he travel to
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Born into a large working-class family, Hilton grew up in a slum before starting work in a cotton mill at the age of eleven. He fought in the
228:. He disappeared from literature at the end of the Forties and returned to plastering, out of disillusionment with the publishing industry.
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for two years on a Cassel scholarship. In late 1937 and early 1938, he published a series of autobiographical essays in
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The obituary for Hilton's brother, Stanley, killed at sea in 1941. Hilton is mentioned as a "well known local author."
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550:." He repeatedly attempted to get Hilton's work published, introducing him to publishers and readers when he could.
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as "the most continuously interesting account of modern
England that I have read, the best thing of its kind since
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short stories and essays in magazines whenever possible. In 1949 he was hired to re-walk the same trip he took for
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stumbled upon a notebook containing drafts by Hilton. The tutor posted the texts to the modernist literary editor
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http://mss-cat.nottingham.ac.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=JH%2f1%2f1%2f24&pos=23
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527:, modest, non-hard boozing, non-hard cursing, non-crude gamestering, no locale in the dialect sense."
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261:, where he began writing under the mentorship of W. H. Mason. At this time he was also active in the
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Hilton was often unemployed during the depression of the 1930s, and during this time he joined the
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Although he was partially responsible for Orwell's visit to Wigan, Hilton was not impressed by
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and report on the "changes and improvements in post-war Labour
Britain." The resulting book,
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Through the brief literary career that followed, Hilton became a good friend of the writers
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in the latter half of the 1920s, he took up odd jobs in the building trade. During the
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has published one article on Hilton and his relationship to George Orwell.
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applauded Hilton's "beautifully evocative descriptions of the country." In
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977:"Forgotten Jack Hilton book to be republished after bartender's discovery"
762:"Forgotten Jack Hilton book to be republished after bartender's discovery"
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402:"What Life Means to Me: The Credo of a Proletarian" (in five parts,
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English Ways: A Walk from the
Pennines to Epsom Downs in 1939 (1940)
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published a special issue on Hilton in 1985. It includes essays by
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Clarke, Ben. "George Orwell, Jack Hilton, and the
Working Class."
335:, was published in 1950; it would be his last major publication.
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movement of the 1930s. Hilton's works were experimental, using
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English Ways: A Walk from the
Pennines to Epsom Downs in 1939
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English Ways: A Walk from the Pennines to Epsom Downs in 1939
865:"The Writer in the Witness-Box: 10: The Proletarian Writer"
322:, Hilton returned to fiction, publishing his second novel,
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Croft, Andy (10 July 1983). "Does anyone remember Jack?".
195:. After a protest in 1932 for which he was imprisoned in
951:"Academics bid to revive legacy of lost Rochdale writer"
512:, "for there are the colliers and they're good stuff."
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Working-class life, the labour movement, unemployment,
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Charlton, Dan (1985). "Jack Hilton and English Ways".
213:. Hilton's contributions evolved into his debut novel
287:. 1938 also saw the publication of his first novel,
207:who invited Hilton to contribute to his magazine,
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483:
801:Joad, C. E. M. (29 June 1940). "English Ways".
647:. Ed. Jack Common. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1938.
851:University of Nottingham Library. JH/1/1/24/.
588:After Hilton's death, Croft advertised in the
575:Red Letter Days: British Fiction in the 1930s.
540:in 'The Proletarian Writer', broadcast on the
151:(21 January 1900 – 26 May 1983) was a British
894:Red Letter Days: British Fiction in the 1930s
16:British novelist, essayist, and travel writer
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75:Novelist, travel writer, essayist, plasterer
544:in December the same year and reprinted in
920:Working Class Writing: Theory and Practice
579:Working-Class Writing: Theory and Practice
536:in 1940 and discussed Hilton's work with
446:was met with generally positive reviews.
384:Laugh at Polonius; or Yet, There is Woman
324:Laugh at Polonius; or Yet, There is Woman
245:but lived most of his life in and around
1052:20th-century British non-fiction writers
1005:Nottingham University Libraries Archives
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155:novelist and essayist adopted into the
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643:Hilton, Jack. "The Plasterer's Life."
179:before a period of several years as a
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830:George Orwell, 'Review: Jack Hilton,
627:Middlesex Polytechnic History Journal
577:Hilton also features in a chapter of
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836:A Kind of Compulsion: 1903-1936
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413:, edited by Jack Common, 1938)
356:A collection of Hilton's books
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818:The Times Literary Supplement
747:Nottingham University Library
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484:Relationship to George Orwell
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191:he began to organise for the
573:mentions Hilton in his book
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163:first-person narratives and
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975:Youngs, Ian (7 July 2023).
955:The Manchester Evening News
760:Youngs, Ian (7 July 2023).
675:"Missing Presumed Killed".
409:"The Plasterer's Life" (in
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430:"Poplar and Whitechapel" (
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583:Review of English Studies
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476:Times Literary Supplement
423:"Queer Men, Dear Women" (
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1062:Alumni of Ruskin College
896:. Lawrence and Wishart.
473:." The reviewer for the
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1042:British autobiographers
517:the Road to Wigan Pier.
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1102:Proletarian literature
1047:British male novelists
1032:British travel writers
873:. BBC. 6 December 1940
838:(London, 1998), 381-2.
717:67.281 (2016) 764-785.
505:The Road to Wigan Pier
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1077:Writers from Rochdale
936:The Rochdale Observer
743:"Jack Hilton Archive"
727:Hilton, Jack (1950).
690:Hilton, Jack (1940).
657:Hilton, Jack (1938).
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217:, published in 1935.
161:semi-autobiographical
892:Croft, Andy (1990).
285:John Middleton Murry
205:John Middleton Murry
849:Caliban Boswelling.
273:. He then attended
241:Hilton was born in
183:. Upon settling in
1027:People from Oldham
679:. 8 February 1941.
521:Caliban Boswelling
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165:internal monologue
126:Laugh At Polonius
65:Greater Manchester
803:The New Statesman
677:Rochdale Observer
591:Rochdale Observer
458:The New Statesman
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1067:1900 births
923:. Palgrave.
498:The Adelphi
471:Rural Rides
404:The Adelphi
348:Major works
280:The Adelphi
226:Jack Common
210:The Adelphi
197:Strangeways
149:Jack Hilton
112:1930 - 1950
25:Jack Hilton
1082:Plasterers
1021:Categories
903:0853157294
870:BBC Genome
603:References
571:Andy Croft
563:Andy Croft
465:described
434:Feb. 1939)
427:July 1938)
339:Later life
253:Authorship
237:Early life
170:Lancashire
72:Occupation
48:Lancashire
37:1900-01-21
788:The Times
491:reviewed
439:Reception
420:May 1938)
289:Champion,
157:modernist
133:Signature
122:Champion
95:socialism
67:, England
981:BBC News
766:BBC News
659:Champion
373:Champion
247:Rochdale
185:Rochdale
181:vagabond
153:outsider
63:Oldham,
960:26 July
533:Adelphi
406:1937–8)
168:native
99:polemic
90:Subject
52:England
986:7 July
900:
877:9 July
771:9 July
581:. The
554:Legacy
489:Orwell
397:Essays
392:(1950)
386:(1942)
375:(1937)
369:(1935)
243:Oldham
44:Oldham
510:Wigan
452:Times
361:Books
988:2023
962:2018
898:ISBN
879:2023
773:2023
525:Eton
232:Life
224:and
58:Died
31:Born
495:in
449:The
291:by
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