Editing Goodbye, Mr. Chips

{{Short description|1934 novella by James Hilton}}
{{hatnote group|
{{other uses}}
{{redirect|Mr. Chips}} }}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = Goodbye, Mr. Chips
| image             = GoodbyeMrChips.jpg
| caption           = Cover of the UK first edition
| author            = [[James Hilton (novelist)|James Hilton]]
| illustrator       = [[Ethel "Bip" Pares]]
| country           = 
| series            = 
| genre             = [[Psychological fiction]]
| publisher         = [[Little, Brown and Company|Little, Brown]] (US)<br/>[[Hodder & Stoughton]] (UK)
| pub_date          = {{Start date|df=yes|1934|6}} (US)<br/>{{Start date|df=yes|1934|10}} (UK)
| media_type        = 
| pages             = 
| isbn              = 
| oclc              = 8462789 <!-- Little, Brown edition at the Library of Congress-->
| dewey             = 
| congress          = 
| preceded_by       = 
| followed_by       = 
}}

'''''Goodbye, Mr. Chips''''' is a [[novella]] about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer [[James Hilton (novelist)|James Hilton]] and first published by [[Hodder & Stoughton]] in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two television presentations.

== History ==

The story was originally issued in 1933, as a supplement to the ''[[British Weekly]]'', an [[evangelical]] newspaper. It came to prominence when it was reprinted as the lead piece of the April 1934 issue of ''[[The Atlantic|The Atlantic Monthly]]''. 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. Published during the [[Great Depression]], Little, Brown 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Goodbye Mr Chips Summary and Study Guide |url=https://www.supersummary.com/goodbye-mr-chips/summary/ |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=SuperSummary |language=en}}</ref>

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. It sold 15,000 copies on the day of publication,<ref name="Times-1934-Dec-4">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=Among The Fiction – Outstanding Sales|date=4 December 1934|page=20|issue=46928|column=c|id={{Gale|CS335883140}}}}</ref> and 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hilton |first=James |date=1934 |title=Good-bye, Mr. Chips! |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideastour/education/hilton-excerpt.html |journal=[[The Atlantic]] |volume=153 |issue=4 |pages=385–512}}.</ref> In 1938, he published a sequel, ''To You, Mr Chips''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aykroyd |first1=W.R. |title=The Origins of Mr Chips |journal=[[Blackwood's Magazine]] |date=August 1976 |volume=320 |issue=30 |pages=116–122 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_blackwoods-magazine_1976-08_320_1930/page/116/mode/2up}}</ref>

== Plot summary ==

{{original research section|date=July 2021}}

The novella tells the story of a beloved school teacher, Mr Chipping, and his long tenure at Brookfield School, a fictional minor British boys' [[boarding school|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 teachers and headmaster and quickly wins the favour of Brookfield's pupils. Their marriage is brief. She dies in childbirth and he never remarries or has another romantic interest.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Educator |first={{!}} Certified |title=Good-bye, Mr. Chips Summary - eNotes.com |url=https://www.enotes.com/topics/good-bye-mr-chips |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=eNotes |language=en}}</ref>

One of the themes of the book is that Chipping so outlasts all of his peers that his brief marriage fades into myth and few people know him as anything other than a confirmed and lonely bachelor. Despite Chipping's mediocre credentials and his view that [[classical languages|classic Greek and Latin]] (his academic subjects) are dead languages, he is an effective teacher who becomes highly regarded by pupils and the school's governors—he has become a well-worn institution. In his later years, he develops an arch sense of humour that pleases everyone.  However, he also becomes somewhat of an anachronism, with an antiquated pronunciation{{which|date=January 2025}}, and is pitied for his isolation. On his deathbed, he talks of the fulfillment he felt as a teacher of boys.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

== Inspiration ==

The setting for ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is probably based on [[The Leys School]], Cambridge, where James Hilton was a pupil (1915–18). Hilton is reported to have said that the inspiration for the protagonist, Mr. Chips, came from many sources, including his father, who was the headmaster of Chapel End School. Mr. Chips is also likely to have been based on [[William Henry Balgarnie|W. H. Balgarnie]], a master at The Leys (1900–30), who was in charge of the ''Leys Fortnightly'' (in which Hilton's first short stories and essays were published.) Over the years, old boys wrote to Geoffery Houghton, a master at The Leys and a historian of the school, confirming the links between Chipping and Balgarnie, who eventually died at [[Porthmadog]] at the age of 82.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,815206,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123130454/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,815206,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 November 2010|title=Milestones |date= 30 July 1951 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| access-date=27 September 2009}}</ref> Balgarnie had been linked with the school for 51 years and spent his last years in modest lodgings nearby. Like Mr. Chips, Balgarnie was a strict disciplinarian, but would also invite boys to visit him for tea and biscuits.<ref name="tele"/>

Hilton wrote upon Balgarnie's death that "Balgarnie was, I suppose, the chief model for my story. When I read so many other stories about [[Public school (United Kingdom)|public school]] life, I am struck by the fact that I suffered no such purgatory as their authors apparently did, and much of this miracle was due to Balgarnie."<ref name="tele">{{cite news|author= Timothy Carroll |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/12/09/batc09.xml |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060624214627/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/12/09/batc09.xml |url-status= dead |archive-date= 24 June 2006 |title= Who was the real Mr Chips? |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=9 December 2002 |access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> The [[Sideburns|mutton chop side whiskers]] of one of the masters at The Leys earned him the nickname "Chops", a likely inspiration for Mr Chips' name.<ref name="tele"/>

In Hilton’s final novel, ''Time and Time Again'' (1953), protagonist Charles Anderson bears clear biographical similarities to Hilton himself.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} Early in the novel, Anderson briefly reminisces about attending Brookfield and knowing "Chips".

== Adaptations ==

=== Radio ===

A 50-minute adaptation by James Hilton and Barbara Burnham was broadcast on the [[BBC National Programme]] at 20:00 on 23 July 1936, with [[Richard Goolden]] in the title part and a cast that included [[Norman Shelley]], [[Ronald Simpson (actor)|Ronald Simpson]], [[Lewis Shaw]] and [[Hermione Hannen]].<ref name="Times-1936-Jul-23">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=Mr. Goolden in a School Play|date=23 July 1936|page=21|issue=47434|column=e|department=Arts and Entertainment|id={{Gale|CS353578743}}}}</ref> There was a repeat broadcast the following evening.<ref name="Times-1936-Jul-24">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=Plays and Music|date=24 July 1936|page=12|issue=47435|column=d|department=Arts and Entertainment|id={{Gale|CS202977016}}}}</ref>

A radio adaptation by the ''[[Lux Radio Theatre]]'' starring [[Laurence Olivier]] and [[Edna Best]] and presented by [[Cecil B. DeMille]] was first broadcast on 20 November 1939.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldin |first1=J. David |title=The Lux Radio Theatre: Goodbye Mr. Chips |website=Radio GOLDINdex |publisher=UMKC Miller Nichols Library |access-date=5 April 2023 |url=https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/ProgramMoreinfo/40601}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdFeXQqow1w |website=YouTube |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref>  

A radio adaptation by ''[[Hallmark Playhouse]]'' starring [[Ronald Colman]] was broadcast on 16 September 1948. [[Jean Holloway]] wrote the adaptation, Dee Engelbach was the producer and director, and James Hilton was the host. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldin |first1=David |title=Hallmark Playhouse: Goodbye Mr. Chips |website=Radio GOLDINdex |url=https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/ProgramMoreinfo/6028 |publisher= UMKC Miller Nichols Library|access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aga9hMiP8mk |website=YouTube |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref> A second version, told from the point of view of Mrs. Chips as portrayed by [[Deborah Kerr]], was broadcast on 1 February 1951. [[Whitfield Connor]] was Mr. Chips, Leonard St. Clair wrote the adaptation, Bill Gay was the producer and director, and James Hilton was again the host. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldin |first1=David |title=Hallmark Playhouse: Goodbye Mr. Chips |website=Radio GOLDINdex |url=https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/ProgramMoreinfo/78735 |publisher= UMKC Miller Nichols Library|access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Dg7zcfYWTI |website=YouTube |access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

A radio adaptation by the ''[[NBC University Theatre]]'' was broadcast on 10 July 1949, starring [[Herbert Marshall]] and [[Alma Lawton]].<ref>Palmer, Zuma (9 July 1949). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/683962552/?clipping_id=97342445 "Sunday Programs"]. ''Citizen-News''. p.&nbsp;18. Retrieved 6 April 2024.</ref> [[Agnes Eckhardt]] wrote the adaptation, and Andrew C. Love was the director.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldin |first1=David |title=The NBC University Theatre: Goodbye Mr. Chips |website=Radio GOLDINdex |url=https://radiogoldin.library.umkc.edu/ProgramMoreinfo/43195 |publisher= UMKC Miller Nichols Library|access-date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

=== Theatre ===

Barbara Burnham adapted the book for a stage production in three acts, which was first performed at the [[Original Shaftesbury Theatre|Shaftesbury Theatre]] on 23 September 1938, with [[Leslie Banks]] as Mr. Chips and [[Constance Cummings]] as his wife Katherine.<ref name="Times-1938-Sep-24">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=Shaftesbury Theatre|date=24 September 1938|page=8|issue=48108|column=D|department=Reviews|id={{Gale|CS135476024}}}}</ref> It ran for over 100 performances<ref name="Times-1938-Dec-29">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=The Theatres|date=29 December 1938|page=6|issue=48189|column=B|access-date=|id={{Gale|CS101528477}}}}</ref> until 14 January 1939.<ref name="Times-1939-Jan-14">{{cite newspaper The Times|title=Art Exhibitions|date=14 January 1939|page=10|issue=48203|column=D|department=Classified Advertising|id={{Gale|CS169423918}}}}</ref>

A stage musical based on the original novel, but using most of the [[Leslie Bricusse]] vocal score of the 1969 film, was mounted at the [[Chichester Festival Theatre|Chichester Festival]] and opened on 11 August 1982. The book was by Roland Starke and the production was directed by [[Patrick Garland]] and Christopher Selbie. Among the Chichester Festival cast were [[John Mills]] as Mr. Chips, [[Colette Gleeson]] as Kathie, [[Nigel Stock (actor)|Nigel Stock]] as Max, [[Michael Sadler (actor)|Michael Sadler]], Paul Hardwick, Simon Butteriss and [[Robert Meadmore]] in supporting roles, and 20 local school boys, including Kevin Farrar who was selected by Bricusse to sing the final verse of the iconic "School Song". The original cast album was recorded on the That's Entertainment Records label TER 1025 at [[Abbey Road Studios|Abbey Roads Studios]] in London on 17/18 August 1982. JAY-jay Records also have a release of it.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

=== Film ===

==== 1939 film ====

{{Main|Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)}}

This version stars [[Robert Donat]], [[Greer Garson]], [[Terry Kilburn]], [[John Mills]], and [[Paul Henreid]]. Donat won an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his performance in the lead role, beating [[Clark Gable]], [[James Stewart]], [[Laurence Olivier]], and [[Mickey Rooney]]. While some of the incidents depicted in the various screen adaptations do not appear in the book, this film is generally faithful to the original story. The exteriors of the buildings of the fictional Brookfield School were filmed at [[Repton School]],<ref>{{cite news| newspaper= [[Sunday Mercury]] | url= http://www.sundaymercury.net/entertainment-news/film-news/film-reviews/2008/06/19/movies-made-in-the-midlands-66331-21105972/ | title=Movies made in the Midlands | access-date=22 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | publisher= greatbritishlife.co.uk | url= http://derbyshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/repton-derbyshire-5268/ | title= Repton, Derbyshire | access-date= 22 April 2018 | archive-date= 15 April 2012 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120415035027/http://derbyshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/repton-derbyshire-5268 | url-status= dead }}</ref> an independent school (at the time of filming, for boys only), located in the village of [[Repton]], in [[Derbyshire]], in the Midlands area of England, whilst the interiors, school courtyards and annexes, including the supposedly exterior shots of the Austrian Tyrol Mountains, were filmed at [[Denham Film Studios]],<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q43228|title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips|description=(1939)}}. Retrieved 11 April 2011</ref> near the village of [[Denham, Buckinghamshire|Denham]] in [[Buckinghamshire]]. Around 200 boys from Repton School stayed on during the school holidays so that they could appear in the film.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.youandyesterday.com/articles/1930s:_A_year_of_tragedy_and_war_worries | title= 1930s: A year of tragedy and war worries | publisher= youandyesterday.com | access-date= 14 March 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110321084346/http://www.youandyesterday.com/articles/1930s:_A_year_of_tragedy_and_war_worries | archive-date= 21 March 2011 | url-status= dead | df= dmy-all }}</ref>

==== 1969 film ====

{{Main|Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969 film)}}

In 1969 a musical film version appeared, starring [[Peter O'Toole]] and [[Petula Clark]], with songs by [[Leslie Bricusse]] and an [[underscoring|underscore]] by [[John Williams]]. In this version the character of Katherine is greatly expanded, and the time setting of the story is moved forward several decades, with Chips' career beginning in the early 20th century and his later career covering [[World War II]], rather than [[World War I]].  O'Toole and Clark's performances were widely praised. At the [[42nd Academy Awards#Best Actor in a Leading Role|42nd Academy Awards]], O'Toole was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]], and he won the [[Golden Globe Award]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy#1960s|Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy]].

=== Television ===

==== 1984 serial ====

In 1984 it was adapted as a television serial by the [[BBC]]. It starred [[Roy Marsden]] and [[Jill Meager]] and ran for six half-hour episodes. Many scenes were filmed at [[Repton School]], Derbyshire, in an effort to remain faithful to the original film.<ref>Other scenes were filmed at Christ College, Brecon; with many of the school's pupils taking roles in the production. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/features/tours/location/others_01.shtml BBC Derby]</ref>

==== 2002 serial ====

A television film adaptation was produced by [[STV Studios]] (then known as "SMG TV Productions") in 2002. It aired on the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] Network in Britain and on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]'s ''[[Masterpiece Theatre]]'' in the United States. It starred [[Martin Clunes]] and [[Victoria Hamilton]] with [[Henry Cavill]], [[William Moseley (actor)|William Moseley]], Oliver Rokison and [[Harry Lloyd]].<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q17427161|title=Goodbye, Mr. Chips|description=(2002 TV)}}. Retrieved 11 April 2011</ref>

=== Parodies ===

''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' was parodied in the British sketch comedy programmes ''[[Hale and Pace]]'' (as ''Piss Off, Mr. Chips'') and ''[[Big Train]]''.

[[Vince Gilligan]] created the television show ''[[Breaking Bad]]'' with the premise that the show's protagonist [[Walter White (Breaking Bad)|Walter White]] would turn "From Mr. Chips to ''[[Scarface (novel)|Scarface]]''" through the series's course.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/may/19/vince-gilligan-breaking-bad|title = Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan: The man who turned Walter White from Mr Chips into Scarface|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 18 May 2012}}</ref>

In the Marx Brothers film ''[[At the Circus]]'', as Groucho Marx is about to walk out of a scene, he shakes hands with a nearby caged monkey and says, "Goodbye, Mister Chimps."

In 2009, the short-running ABC sitcom ''[[Better Off Ted]]'' titles its 6th episode "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" wherein the computer system misidentifies then completely deletes the account of Ted Crisp, the main character.

== See also ==

* [[1934 in literature]]
* ''[[To Serve Them All My Days]]''

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0500111h.html ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' James Hilton.  Project Gutenberg Australia]

[[Category:1934 British novels]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:English novels]]
[[Category:Little, Brown and Company books]]
[[Category:British novels adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:Novels by James Hilton]]
[[Category:Novels set in boarding schools]]
[[Category:Television series by STV Studios]]
[[Category:Works originally published in British newspapers]]