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Goodbye, Mr. Chips (originally, Good-bye, Mr. Chips) is a novella about the life of a schoolteacher, Mr. Chipping, written by the English writer James Hilton, first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. The novel has been adapted into two films and two television adaptations.
The story was originally issued in 1933, as a supplement to the British Weekly, an evangelical newspaper; but came to prominence when it was reprinted as the lead piece of the April 1934 issue of The Atlantic. The success of the Atlantic Monthly publication prompted a book deal between the author and the US publisher Little, Brown and Company, who published the story in book form for the first time in June 1934. The Great Depression had elevated business risks for most publishing houses, and Little, Brown were no exception. They cautiously released a small first print run. Public demand for more was immediate, and Little, Brown went into an almost immediate reprinting the same month. Public demand remained strong, and Little, Brown continued to reprint the book in cautious lots for many months, with at least two reprintings per month.
The first British edition went to press in October 1934. The publishers were Hodder & Stoughton, who had observed the success of the book in the United States, and they released a much larger first print run. But they quickly found themselves going into reprints as the reading public's demand for the book proved insatiable. With the huge success of this book, James Hilton became a best-selling author.[1]
The novella tells the story of a beloved schoolteacher, Mr. Chipping, and his forty-three-year tenure at Brookfield Grammar School, a fictional second-rate British boys’ public boarding school located in the fictional village of Brookfield, in the Fenlands. Mr. Chips, as the boys call him, is conventional in his beliefs, and exercises firm discipline in the classroom. His views broaden and his pedagogical manner loosens after he marries Katherine, a young woman whom he meets on holiday in the Lake District. Katherine charms the Brookfield faculty and headmaster and quickly wins the favour of Brookfield's students. Despite Chipping's mediocre credentials and his view that Greek and Latin (his academic subjects) are dead languages, he is an effective teacher who becomes highly regarded by students and by the school's governors. In his later years, he develops an arch sense of humor that pleases everyone.
Although the book is unabashedly sentimental, it also depicts the sweeping social changes that Chips experiences throughout his life: he begins his tenure at Brookfield in September 1870, at the age of 22, as the Franco-Prussian War was breaking out; he lay on his deathbed at the age of 85 in November 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler's rise to power. He is seen by his colleagues as an individual able to connect with anyone on a human level, beyond petty politics.
A presentation of ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, Goodbye, Mr. Chips aired on PBS in October 2003. Based on the novel by James Hilton, this adaptation was directed by British filmmaker Stuart Orme. The story follows the life of beloved Latin schoolteacher Mr. Chipping (Martin Clunes). As a young man, he arrives at Brookfield boarding school in the 1880s. He makes friends German teacher Max Staefel (Conleth Hill) and marries the intelligent socialite Katherine Bridges (Victoria Hamilton). As his students grow to adore him, he's nicknamed "Mr. Chips" and given a promotion. However, he experiences years of sadness after Kathie dies in childbirth. Then WWI breaks out and his friend Staefel is forced to leave the school due to the fascist new headmaster, Ralston (Patrick Malahide). Finally, Mr. Chips reflects on his career at a retirement party. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
Rating: Unrated
Genre: Drama, Television
Directed By: Stuart Orme
In Theaters: Dec 26, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Jan 6, 2004
Runtime: 2 hr. [ubgHwXR3yi8] |