Anna Wickham's life is characterized by the turbulent, burgeoning feminism of the early 20th century. A woman whose incisive mind and inquisitive nature sent her husband into jealous rages, she was forcibly committed to a mental hospital at the age of 30. Upon her release, she began a life-long quest for happiness, exhibited first and foremost through her poetry. Anna Wickham became a widely acclaimed writer whose life, at times immersed in scandal, is a story of success and sadness. Eventually leaving her husband and four sons to live in Paris's left bank, she became a confidante of D.H. Lawrence, the long-time lover of millionairess Natalie Clifford Barney, and a strong-willed literary icon, rumored to have once thrown Dylan Thomas into a snowstorm. Despite her fame and achievement, Wickham's struggles with depression and anxiety would eventually lead to her untimely death.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Using interviews with the poet's family, her works, and what can be found of her correspondence, Jones crafts an engaging account of the trials and successes of Wickham's life. (Bethany Towne Women's Review Of Books )
Jones has written a most striking and culturally informative biography of early twentieth-century poet Anna Wickham. Although she wrote in the rhymed iambic form of the time, Wickham's sentiments were feminist, free, and adventuresome. She was able to combine her 'wildness' with domesticity and the mothering of four sons, as well as acting as an inspiration to the artists around her. (Joanne Kyger )
This excellent, meticulously researched, and well-written biography is a fascinating account of how a talented and unconventional woman struggled to become a fresh, lively, poetic voice while establishing close and intriguing friendships with some of the period's significant literary and artistic figures. Jones' compelling study is a sympathetic and critically acute exploration of the life and work of this long overlooked poet. (James G. Nelson )
Anna Wickham is an authoritative and much-needed biography of a neglected poet. Jones skillfully weaves the narrative of Wickham's lonely childhood in Australia, a tempestuous marriage, and a vibrant poetic development with a social history spanning Edwardian England to the Second World War. We encounter a fascinating woman whose free spirit and self-doubt were in constant dialogue and conflict. This book also points us to Wickham’s invigorating poetry which was once internationally renowned. Like the poems, her life story will resonate with present day readers. (Dr. Jane Dowson )
Anna Wickham is an authoritative and much-needed biography of a neglected poet. Jones skillfully weaves the narrative of Wickham's lonely childhood in Australia, a tempestuous marriage, and a vibrant poetic development with a social history spanning Edwardian England to the Second World War. We encounter a fascinating woman whose free spirit and self-doubt were in constant dialogue and conflict. This book also points us to Wickham’s invigorating poetry which was once internationally renowned. Like the poems, her life story will resonate with present day readers. (Dr. Jane Dowson )
Jones has written an absorbing biography of the larger-than-life yet ultimately tragic Anna Wickham, which is detailed and affectionate. It tells of an inspired woman who escaped from a tyrannical marriage into literature and literary society, including the Anglo-American lesbian world of Natalie Barney. Furthermore, it throws light on a poet who nurtured and encouraged many young poets, among them Malcolm Lowry, Lawrence Durrell, and Dylan Thomas. Like all worthwhile biographies, the story also gives the reader a slice of literary history. It draws one into the intriguing life of a woman who had to overcome the prejudices of a stifling age in order to register as a truly independent spirit with an original poetic voice. (Gordon Bowker )
Anna Wickham is a carefully researched, critical biography of ‘a major woman’ whose poetry reveals the forces that shaped female artists from the early twentieth century through the World Wars and beyond. (Phyllis Walsh )
Anna Wickham is a carefully researched, critical biography of ‘a major woman’ whose poetry reveals the forces that shaped female artists from the early twentieth century through the World Wars and beyond. (Phyllis Walsh )
Jones does a good job not only of disclosing the initimate details of the poet's tragic life but also of interweaving her poems through the narrative and paying special attention to her writing techniques. (Scott Hightower Library Journal )
A Poe'ts Daring Life is a simply fascinating biograpical study and presentation enhanced with exclusive interviews with members of Anna Wickham's family and a newly discovered written corespondence. (Bookwatch )
A Poe'ts Daring Life is a simply fascinating biograpical study and presentation enhanced with exclusive interviews with members of Anna Wickham's family and a newly discovered written corespondence. (Bookwatch )
A compelling, critically dextrous and long-overdue portrait of an important poet. (Anne Pender The Times Literary )
Jones has written a most striking and culturally informative biography of early twentieth-century poet Anna Wickham. Although she wrote in the rhymed iambic form of the time, Wickham's sentiments were feminist, free, and adventuresome. She was able to combine her 'wildness' with domesticity and the mothering of four sons, as well as acting as an inspiration to the artists around her. (Joanne Kyger )
This excellent, meticulously researched, and well-written biography is a fascinating account of how a talented and unconventional woman struggled to become a fresh, lively, poetic voice while establishing close and intriguing friendships with some of the period's significant literary and artistic figures. Jones' compelling study is a sympathetic and critically acute exploration of the life and work of this long overlooked poet. (James G. Nelson )
Anna Wickham is an authoritative and much-needed biography of a neglected poet. Jones skillfully weaves the narrative of Wickham's lonely childhood in Australia, a tempestuous marriage, and a vibrant poetic development with a social history spanning Edwardian England to the Second World War. We encounter a fascinating woman whose free spirit and self-doubt were in constant dialogue and conflict. This book also points us to Wickham’s invigorating poetry which was once internationally renowned. Like the poems, her life story will resonate with present day readers. (Dr. Jane Dowson )
Anna Wickham is an authoritative and much-needed biography of a neglected poet. Jones skillfully weaves the narrative of Wickham's lonely childhood in Australia, a tempestuous marriage, and a vibrant poetic development with a social history spanning Edwardian England to the Second World War. We encounter a fascinating woman whose free spirit and self-doubt were in constant dialogue and conflict. This book also points us to Wickham’s invigorating poetry which was once internationally renowned. Like the poems, her life story will resonate with present day readers. (Dr. Jane Dowson )
Jones has written an absorbing biography of the larger-than-life yet ultimately tragic Anna Wickham, which is detailed and affectionate. It tells of an inspired woman who escaped from a tyrannical marriage into literature and literary society, including the Anglo-American lesbian world of Natalie Barney. Furthermore, it throws light on a poet who nurtured and encouraged many young poets, among them Malcolm Lowry, Lawrence Durrell, and Dylan Thomas. Like all worthwhile biographies, the story also gives the reader a slice of literary history. It draws one into the intriguing life of a woman who had to overcome the prejudices of a stifling age in order to register as a truly independent spirit with an original poetic voice. (Gordon Bowker )
Anna Wickham is a carefully researched, critical biography of ‘a major woman’ whose poetry reveals the forces that shaped female artists from the early twentieth century through the World Wars and beyond. (Phyllis Walsh )
Anna Wickham is a carefully researched, critical biography of ‘a major woman’ whose poetry reveals the forces that shaped female artists from the early twentieth century through the World Wars and beyond. (Phyllis Walsh )
Jones does a good job not only of disclosing the initimate details of the poet's tragic life but also of interweaving her poems through the narrative and paying special attention to her writing techniques. (Scott Hightower Library Journal )
A Poe'ts Daring Life is a simply fascinating biograpical study and presentation enhanced with exclusive interviews with members of Anna Wickham's family and a newly discovered written corespondence. (Bookwatch )
A Poe'ts Daring Life is a simply fascinating biograpical study and presentation enhanced with exclusive interviews with members of Anna Wickham's family and a newly discovered written corespondence. (Bookwatch )
A compelling, critically dextrous and long-overdue portrait of an important poet. (Anne Pender The Times Literary )
About the Author
Jennifer Vaughan Jones (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994) is a professor whose seminal work, The Poetry and Place of Anna Wickham 1910-30, provides the first complete bibliography of Anna Wickham's work and contribution to literary modernism. This is her first book.
Jennifer Vaughan Jones (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994) is a professor whose seminal work, The Poetry and Place of Anna Wickham 1910-30, provides the first complete bibliography of Anna Wickham's work and contribution to literary modernism. This is her first book.
Jennifer Vaughan Jones (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1994) is a professor whose seminal work, The Poetry and Place of Anna Wickham 1910-30, provides the first complete bibliography of Anna Wickham's work and contribution to literary modernism. This is her first book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a biography should be!,
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This review is from: Anna Wickham: A Poet's Daring Life (Hardcover)
Jennifer Vaughan Jones has written a compelling page-turner of a biography that is as gripping as a novel. The depth of her research and the connections she makes between people in the worlds of music and literature are commendable. While the book clearly tells the story of a woman who lived at a time when women were without rights and were the property of their husbands, Ms. Jones does not fall into the trap of making this story a hardline feminist rant. She maintains a realistic balance throughout, treating her "characters" fairly and perceptively. Even people who have never heard of Anna Wickham will find this book fascinating. Very highly recommneded
5.0 out of 5 stars
A simply fascinating biographical study,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Anna Wickham: A Poet's Daring Life (Hardcover)
Anna Wickham: A Poet's Daring Life by Jennifer Vaughan Jones (Viterbo University) is an informed and informative biography of the trailblazing female poet Anna Wickham (1883-1947). When Anna's husband felt threatened by her poetry, he had her committed against her will to a mental hospital. Yet it was within those restrictive and alien confines that Anna was stimulated to write eighty moving poems, and find the strength to flourish as a literary creator. Anna eventually separated from her husband and found an (unfortunately unrequited) love for Natalie Clifford Barney, a lesbian American millionaire. Anna Wickham: A Poet's Daring Life is a simply fascinating biographical study and presentation enhanced with exclusive interviews with members of Anna Wickham's family and a newly discovered written correspondence.
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