John Masefield: A Life

By Constance Babington Smith

Book Overview

Born in Ledbury in 1878, John Masefield was apprenticed under sail before spending several years in the US. On his return to England he worked as a journalist for the Manchester Guardian and other newspapers, and his first poems were published at the start of last century. In 1911 The Everlasting Mercy was published and caused a sensation with its brutal realism; over the next two decades he established himself as a poet, playwright, novelist, and historian. He enjoyed the friendship of Robert Graves and Yeats, and was appointed Poet Laureate in 1930. He died in 1967. Constance Babington-Smith received the full co-operation and support of Masefield's family, and has access to many previously unpublished papers and letters. The result is a well-rounded and absorbing biography of one of the best-loved English poets, one whose reputation has been in the doldrums for far too long.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0750937025
• ISBN13: 9780750937023
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: History Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.0"