Children's novelist, born in Maidenhead, Windsor and Maidenhead, S England, UK. He trained as a civil engineer, worked in Africa, the West Indies, and Canada, then settled in New York City to become a writer. He created the immensely successful Dr Dolittle books from letters he wrote to his children from the front lines in World War 1. Beginning with The Story of Dr Dolittle (1920), there were a dozen Dolittle books, which he also illustrated, and although he tired of his hero - on one occasion attempting to abandon him on the Moon - his popularity was such that his readers demanded his return.
Hugh Lofting|
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| Born: |
January 14, 1886 |
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| Died: |
September 26, 1947 |
| Occupation(s): | Novelist |
| Genre(s): | Children's literature |
Hugh John Lofting (Maidenhead, Berkshire, England January 14, 1886 - Topanga, California September 26, 1947) was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle — one of the classics of children's literature.
Doctor Dolittle
Hugh Lofting's doctor from Puddleby-on-the-Marsh who could speak to animals first saw light in the author's illustrated letters to children, written from the trenches during World War I when actual news, he later said, was either too horrible or too dull.
Other Works for Children
The Story of Mrs Tubbs (1923) and Tommy, Tilly, and Mrs. Tubbs (1936) are picture books aimed at a younger audience than the Doctor Dolittle books.
Porridge Poetry (1924), is the only non-Dolittle work by Lofting still in print, and is a light-hearted, colourfully illustrated book of poems for children.
Epic poem
Victory for the Slain (1942) is Lofting's only work for adults, a single long poem in seven parts about the futility of war;
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