Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. His Catholic faith had a strong effect on his works.
Belloc became a naturalised British subject in while retaining his French citizenship. From to , he served as one of the few openly Catholic members of the British Parliament. Belloc was a noted disputant, with a number of long-running feuds. He was also a close friend and collaborator of G. George Bernard Shaw , a friend and frequent debate opponent of both Belloc and Chesterton, dubbed the pair the "Chesterbelloc".
Belloc's writings encompassed religious poetry and comic verse for children. His widely sold Cautionary Tales for Children included "Jim, who ran away from his nurse, and was eaten by a lion" and "Matilda, who told lies and was burned to death".
His sister Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes also became a writer. Belloc's mother Bessie Rayner Parkes β was a writer, activist and an advocate for women's equality, a co-founder of the English Woman's Journal and the Langham Place Group. Belloc's maternal grandfather was Joseph Parkes β In , five years after they wed, Louis died but not before being wiped out financially in a stock market crash. The young widow then brought her children from France back to England.
Belloc grew up in England; his boyhood was spent in Slindon , West Sussex. Ellen Hogan, who was travelling from California on a European tour with two of her children, her daughters Elizabeth and Elodie. The travellers were both devoutly Catholic and keenly interested in literature, and Marie arranged a visit with her mother, Bessie, who in turn arranged an audience with Henry Cardinal Manning.
