6
OCTOBER 27�NOVEMBER 3, 2021
FROM THE SHELF
CHECKING OUT THE
WORLD OF BOOKS
Hunting for classic reads
‘Goodbye,
Mr. Chips’
By Cheryl Hoefl er
Go! Magazine
I
’m frequently on the hunt for classics
— books that I think I should have read,
or should read now, or probably did read
sometime but don’t remember. I fi gure
maybe I’ll be ready with knowledgeable
responses if one of them ever pops up as
a topic on “Jeopardy.”
Not sure if “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” fi ts the
“classic” category, but I’d certainly heard
of it and decided to check it out.
In the space of a short novella, author
James Hinton crafts an endearing tale of
an English schoolteacher, Mr. Chipping,
during his tenure at a fi ctional boys’ board-
ing school.
“Chips” (his fi rst name is never revealed)
is fi rm and disciplined as an educator at
Brookfi eld, and a conservative man with
traditional ways and views of the world.
He’s also a likeable guy who charms his
students and colleagues with a quiet wit
and dry sense of humor.
He’s aghast at the changes taking place
in the late 19th century — women pushing
for the vote and “this new craze for bicy-
cling which was being taken up by women
equally with men.” Chips is uncomfortable
with the newness whirling about in the
world, and relishes the stability and routine
of his refuge at Brookfi eld.
So, it’s at this time during Chips’ con-
tented bachelorhood, in his middle-age
years while on holiday in a remote moun-
tain location, that he meets a woman. A
much younger woman. One who rides
bicycles, climbs mountains, believes
women should be admitted to higher
education and has radical political views.
Moreover, Chips marries this woman —
much to the shock and amusement of all
who know him.
His marriage to Katherine is brief (you’ll
have to read the book to learn why), but
during their short, blissful union, this
modern woman of the world makes a soft
impression on her dear Chips. He seems
to mellow and loosen the fi rm grip he has
had on the world. He takes more pride
in his position, now one of seniority at
Brookfi eld, devoting himself to the educa-
tion of his beloved students.
The war-torn years ahead in the early
20th century are fi lled with changes,
grief and loss at Brookfi eld. Through it all,
Chips endures, often recalling the names
of the multitude of schoolboys who have
passed through his classroom doors. He’s
had under his tutelage generations of the
same families and occasionally, he enjoys
encounters with students years later, now
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settled into their own adult endeavors.
Near the end of his life, when it’s as-
sumed that he never had any children, he
replies, “But I have, you know … thou-
sands of ‘em … thousands of ‘em … and
all boys.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Chips” was written in
1934, following Hilton’s bestseller “Lost
Horizon” the year before.
For movie buff s, the story resulted in
two theatrical fi lms. One in 1939 starring
Robert Donat (who won an Oscar for the
role) and Greer Garson, and another in
1969, a musical starring Peter O’Toole and
Petula Clark. I haven’t seen the latter, but
the former I watched immediately after
reading the book, being a Donat fan from
Hitchcock’s “The 39 Steps” (1933).
The 1939 movie version stayed pretty
true to the book and it did not disappoint.
The book (and movie) led to ponder-
ings about my years as a teacher and
educators I have known. You may not
be a teacher yourself, but you’ve cer-
tainly known many over the years. Do you
remember any of them, especially those
who had a lasting, positive infl uence on
you? Ever wonder if they remember you,
and if you had a lasting, positive infl uence
on THEM?
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