Description
Book SynopsisThe story of Richard Aldington, outstanding Imagist poet and author of the bestselling war novel, Death of a Hero (1929), takes place against the backdrop of some of the most turbulent and creative years of the twentieth century. Vivien Whelpton provides a remarkably detailed and sensitive portrayal of the writer from early adolescence. His life as a stalwart of the pre-war London literary scene, as a soldier, and in the difficult aftermath of the First World War is deftly rendered through a careful and detailed analysis of the novels, poems and letters of the writer himself and his close circle of acquaintance. The complexities of London''s Bohemia, with its scandalous relationships, social grandstanding and incredible creative output, are masterfully untangled, and the spotlight placed firmly on the talented group of poets christened by Ezra Pound as ''Imagistes''. The author demonstrates profound psychological insight into Aldington''s character and childhood in her nuanced analysis
Trade Review"... To describe Aldington as a complicated individual is an understatement, and to call his relationships with other people complex is equally inadequate. It is one of the strengths of Whelpton's biography that she examines these complexities with great patience, clarity and objectivity... Whelpton is scrupulous in distinguishing between documented fact and fictionalized reconstruction and hypothesis... To read this biography is to be convicted that Aldington still deserves and important place in the history of English literature and literary life of the twentieth century. Vivien Whelpton has thus written a challenging book about an author most publishers still prefer to ignore, and Lutterworth Press is to be congratulated for publishing it" Adrian Barlow, The Use of English, Vol. 65 N. 3 Summer 2014 "readers will be grateful to Whelpton for guiding us round the hairpin bends and blind alleys of [Aldington's] relationships." Robert Crawford, in "London Review of Books", vol.37, issue 2, 22 January 2015 "This is an absorbing and thorough discussion of Aldington's life and work, and illuminates the cultural life of London throughout the period.[...]The research is thorough and presented with a remarkably light touch, considering the level of detail here. Vivien Whelpton is to be congratulated on a very substantial achievement in a book which will long resonate with its readers." Alliance Of Literary Society Newsletter, Summer 2014 "This is a skilfully written biography. The writer displays a huge knowledge of the life of her subject and a very good grasp of the contemporary literature and other artistic expressions of the age." Marysa Demoor, English Literature in Transition vol 58 issue 4, 2015 "Whelpton's account is formidably thorough, and a valuable addition to the biographical resources previously available to the Aldington scholar; it will also be useful to students of the First World War, modernist literature and the early twentieth century...Vivien Whelpton has made an important contribution to Aldington scholarship, and I await the proposed volumes detailing Aldington's early and late years with interest." Andrew Frayn, New Canterbury Literary Society News, Vol. 43, Issue 1, Spring 2015
Table of ContentsPART ONE: POET and LOVER Chapter One: Bohemia: London 1911 - 1912: Patmore, Pound and H.D. Chapter Two: Family secrets Chapter Three: The perfect year: France and Italy, 1912-1913 Chapter Four: Triumphs and disappointments: marriage, journalism and war, 1913-1916 Chapter Five: The imagist poet: 1912-1916 PART TWO: THE SOLDIER Chapter Six: Retreat to the country: 1916 Chapter Seven: War intervenes: 1916 Chapter Eight : To the front and back: 1917 Chapter Nine: Interlude Chapter Ten : Betrayals: 1917-1918 Chapter Eleven: Complications: 1918 Chapter Twelve: The poet of war and desire PART THREE: THE EXILE Chapter Thirteen: The aftermath: 1919 Chapter Fourteen : Separation Chapter Fifteen: Writing to live: 1920-1925 Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen: More betrayals: 1926-1927 Chapter Eighteen: The end of the affair: Paris and Port Cros, 1928 Chapter Nineteen: The Novelist Chapter Twenty: The Eaten Heart Chapter Twenty-One: A new life: Brigit and Hilda: 1929
