Hugh Lofting

Hugh Lofting

Hugh John Lofting was a British author, trained as a civil engineer, who created the character of Doctor Dolittle — one of the classics of children's literature.

Lofting was born on January 14, 1886 in Maidenhead, England, to English and Irish parents. His eldest brother was Hilary Lofting, who later became a novelist in Australia (immigrant in 1915).

Hugh Lofting's education was at Mount St. Mary's College in Sheffield. He then went to the United States, where he took classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1905-1906.

He traveled widely as a civil engineer, before enlisting in the Irish Guards to serve in World War I. Not wishing to write to his children of the brutality of the war, he wrote imaginative letters that were the foundation of the successful Doctor Dolittle novels for children. Seriously wounded in the war, he moved with his family to Killingworth, Connecticut in the United States. Lofting was married three times and had three children, one of whom (his son Christopher) is the executor of his literary estate.

Lofting commented, "For years it was a constant source of shock to me to find my writings amongst 'juveniles'. It does not bother me any more now, but I still feel there should be a category of 'seniles' to offset the epithet."

Lofting died on September 26, 1947.

The Doctor Dolittle stories, in order of publication, are:

  1. The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920)
  2. The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922)
  3. Doctor Dolittle's Post Office (1923)
  4. Doctor Dolittle's Circus (1924)
  5. "Doctor Dolittle Meets a Londoner in Paris" (1925)
  6. Doctor Dolittle's Zoo (1925)
  7. Doctor Dolittle's Caravan (1926)
  8. Doctor Dolittle's Garden (1927)
  9. Doctor Dolittle in the Moon (1928)
  10. Gub Gub's Book: An Encyclopaedia of Food (1932)
  11. Doctor Dolittle's Return (1933)
  12. Doctor Dolittle's Birthday Book (1936)
  13. Doctor Dolittle and the Secret Lake (copyrighted 1923, but not published until 1948)
  14. Doctor Dolittle and the Green Canary (1950)
  15. Doctor Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures (1952)

 

Did you find this review helpful?
Related Links
Wikipedia Biography
27 Items found
Doctor Dolittle and His Friends
by Hugh Lofting; adapted by Polly B. Berends, Leslie Bricusse
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Doctor Dolittle Complete Collection
by Hugh Lofting
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Doctor Dolittle in the Moon
Doctor Dolittle #9
by Hugh Lofting
from Bottom of the Hill Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Doctor Dolittle in the Moon
Doctor Dolittle #9
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Doctor Dolittle's Caravan
Doctor Dolittle #7
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
for 9th-12th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Doctor Dolittle's Circus
Doctor Dolittle #4
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Doctor Dolittle's Circus
Doctor Dolittle #4
by Hugh Lofting
from Bottom of the Hill Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Doctor Dolittle's Circus
Doctor Dolittle #4
by Hugh Lofting
from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.45
Doctor Dolittle's Garden
Doctor Dolittle #8
by Hugh Lofting
from Bottom of the Hill Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Doctor Dolittle's Post Office
by Hugh Lofting
from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.95
Doctor Dolittle's Puddleby Adventures
Doctor Dolittle #15
by Hugh Lofting
from Weekly Reader
for 1st-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Doctor Dolittle's Return
Doctor Dolittle #11
by Hugh Lofting
from Bottom of the Hill Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
Doctor Dolittle #6
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
Doctor Dolittle #6
by Hugh Lofting
1967th edition from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.95
Story of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.95
Story of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from Dover Publications
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.99
Story of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Story of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Doctor Dolittle
Books of Wonder
by Hugh Lofting (illustrated by Michael Hague)
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Travels of Doctor Dolittle
by Al Perkins (adapter), original story by Hugh Lofting, illustrated by Philip Wende
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
40th printing from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.45
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
Books of Wonder
by Hugh Lofting, illustrated by Michael Hague
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
40th printing from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Hugh Lofting, illustrated by Sonja Lamut
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Reprint from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)