<P>Hilaire Belloc is one of the most important writers of the 20th century. At turns reviled or revered depending on the audience he was a razor sharp social commenter and a master of both poetry and prose who continues to captivate readers. In <I>Old Thunder</I> Joseph Pearce examines Belloc's enduring impact on British intellectual life.<P>Along the way Pearce uncovers Belloc's relationships with Chesterton Waugh and Sassoon among others. Pearce also illuminates another side of Belloc's personality by relaying his long courtship with Elodie Hogan her brief stint in a convent and his ultimate grief at her death.<P>In this updated biography with a new introduction by Dale Alhquist Joseph Pearce uses previously unpublished letters and photographs to reveal in Belloc a romantic complex and solitary man who is one of the true giants of the Catholic revival in the last century.<P>An Author's Republic audio production.