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Jean Moorcroft Wilson

Edward Thomas: from Adlestrop to Arras: A Biography Hardcover – July 21, 2015

by Jean Moorcroft Wilson (Author)

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A war poet is not one who chooses to commemorate or celebrate a war, but one who reacts against having a war thrust upon him. Along with Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, Edward Thomas is, by any reckoning, a major World War I poet.

Alongside an illuminating understanding of Thomas's poetry, Jean Moorcroft Wilson explores the intriguing circumstances of the poet's life: his early marriage, his dependence on laudanum, his lively social life, which included many notable writers--among them Joseph Conrad, Edward Garnett, Rupert Brooke, and Hilaire Belloc--and even a ménage à trois with novelist Eleanor Farjeon. But though Thomas's personal life is the stuff of which myths are made--which posterity has been quick to oblige--Wilson pushes against this instinct, arguing that it has obscured Thomas's true worth as a writer.

Edward Thomas's poems were not published until some months after his death in 1917, but they have never since been out of print. Described by Ted Hughes as "the father of us all," Thomas occupies a crucial place in the development of twentieth century poetry, with a distinctively modern sensibility remarkably in tune with our twenty-first century outlook. This is the extraordinary life of a poetic genius.

Print length

496 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bloomsbury Continuum
Publication date

July 21, 2015
Dimensions

6.26 x 1.77 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

9781408187135
ISBN-13

978-1408187135
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The most important biography of Thomas to appear for thirty years.” ―Mark Bostridge, author of The Fateful Year

About the Author

Jean Moorcroft Wilson is an eminent literary biographer, a lecturer at Birkbeck College, and a leading expert on World War I literature. She is the author of biographies of Siegfried Sassoon, Charles Hamilton Sorley, Isaac Rosenberg, and the niece of Virginia Woolf.

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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1408187132
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury Continuum (July 21, 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781408187135
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1408187135
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.26 x 1.77 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,190,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,443 in British & Irish Poetry
- #16,762 in Author Biographies

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22 ratings

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Podiceps cristatus

A Fine Biography of a Great Poet

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2018

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I can't help but wonder if some potential readers are maybe fooled by the title 'from Adlestrop to Arras'. In fact this period of Thomas's life takes up at most a third of this very informative and well researched biography. Thomas was certainly a complex character and this is well documented throughout, as are the equally complex family relationships, and Thomas's marriage if nothing else is a warning against marrying at a young age when one has so many other objectives in life. Did Thomas enlist and go off to war and his ultimate death, in part to escape his wife? This question remained unanswered, but what is apparently clarified is how Thomas actually died.

Anyone wishing to seek more knowledge and clarity of Thomas's prose and poetry, as I did, will find this biography very enlightening. The relationship with poet and friend Robert Frost is covered in some detail as are a number of other relationships with well known writers of the time which certainly left me wanting to search for much more information concerning several of the individuals mentioned.

3 people found this helpful

David

It's exactly like a school essay where you suddenly realise you've run ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 20, 2017

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This is a well written, thoroughly researched book and it keeps you turning the pages, ever towards the much anticipated establishment of Thomas as a well-regarded poet as well as his seemingly inevitable end at Arras. Despite the sub-title, it starts well before Adlestrop, and you really get the chance to see Edward Thomas as a complicated, real person, and if nothing else you can see this as a fascinating insight into the way in which a fairly normal middle-class man ends up giving his life for his country.
Unfortunately the promised climax of discovery and validation never properly materialises. The author seems surprisingly detached throughout, sticking very much to the facts, and rounds things off in a mere paragraph with a disappointingly brief and feeble after-thought of a conclusion. It's exactly like a school essay where you suddenly realise you've run out of time or word count and have to quickly put something in to keep the teacher happy. There is virtually nothing about how Thomas's work was recognised after his death, and only the briefest mentions here and there of how those close to him dealt with their loss. Despite making the point that the erroneous recounting of the nature of his death threatens to detract from the value of his work, this actual value and recognition isn't really discussed at all.
Maybe this is aimed at those who are a little more familiar with Thomas's legacy, but for those of us who are not, I think we're left a little bemused and left to Wikipedia to finish the story.

8 people found this helpful

C. S. Bancroft

Excellent Biography

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2019

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This is a comprehensive and detailed exploration of one of Britain's great poets. It illuminates the troubled life and psyche of a poet who was lost in the world in which he lived. Easy to read and well informed it is definitely a must for anyone interested in Thomas. Only gripe, as one reviewer has already mentioned, is that the ending is very abrupt and does not take in to account the aftermath of his death, which, although not strictly biographical, would have been nice to know. Don't let that put you off though.

One person found this helpful

Trey Blake

Wonderful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2021

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Wonderful book, thoughtfully written and very thorough. Have become a fan of Jean Moorcroft Wilson , her biog of Graves is stunning. This is nearly as good, and as someone who loved Edward Thomas it is a precious bit of time with him.

kindle customer. Tony Topley

Book in excellent condition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2020

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For my wife

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Edward Thomas: from Adlestrop to Arras: A Biography Hardcover – July 21, 2015

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