Goodbye Mr. Chips

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (originally Good-bye, Mr. Chips) is a novel by James Hilton. The story had originally been issued as a supplement to the British Weekly, an evangelical newspaper, in 1933 but came to prominence when it was reprinted as the lead piece of the April 1934 issue of The Atlantic. The success of the Atlantic Monthly publication prompted a book deal between Mr. Hilton and Little, Brown and Company. Little, Brown published the first printing of this story in book form in June 1934. The depression was a factor for most publishing houses and Little Brown was no exception; they carefully released a small first printing. Public demand for more was immediate, and Little Brown went into an almost immediate reprinting the same month. The demand continued and Little Brown continued to reprint the book for many months with at least two reprintings per month. The first printing of the British edition was in October 1934. This edition was published by Hodder and Stoughton who had the benefit of observing the success of Little Brown and released a larger first printing. Even with this benefit, Hodder and Stoughton found themselves going into reprints as the public's demand for the book was enormous. After the huge success of this book, James Hilton became a bestselling author,[1] numerous adaptations were made including two films, two television versions and various stage adaptations