Synopses & Reviews
One of Britainand#8217;s best-known and most loved poets, Wilfred Owen (1893and#8211;1918) was killed at age 25 on one of the last days of the First World War, having acted heroically as soldier and officer despite his famous misgivings about the war's rationale and conduct. He left behind a body of poetry that sensitively captured the pity, rage, valor, and futility of the conflict.
In this new biography Guy Cuthbertson provides a fresh account of Owen's life and formative influences: the lower-middle-class childhood that he tried to escape; the places he lived in, from Birkenhead to Bordeaux; his class anxieties and his religious doubts; his sexuality and friendships; his close relationship with his mother and his childlike personality. and#160;Cuthbertson chronicles a great poet's growth to poetic maturity, illuminates the social strata of the extraordinary Edwardian era, and adds rich context to how Owen's enduring verse can be understood.
Review
and#8220;[A] vigorous, well-documented narrative, with fresh light to cast on some central themes. It is excellent on the Shropshire background, on Owenand#8217;s educational careerand#8230;and on the curious life he led as an and#233;migrand#233; in France. It offers too some intelligent analysis of Owenand#8217;s growing technical accomplishment as a poet.and#8221;and#8212;Rowan Williams, New Statesman
Review
and#8220;[H]ere is an elegantly written, penetrating and stirring biography.and#8221;and#8212;John Preston, The Daily Mail
Review
“Cuthbertsons biography is admirably thorough in its unpacking of Owenss poetic imagery. There is no reference that is unexplored.”—Daisy Goodwin, The Sunday Times John Preston - The Daily Mail
Review
and#8220;[Cuthbertson] writes with such sincerity, telling the story of Owenand#8217;s short life and journey from provincial obscurity to the carnage on the western front and then to posthumous fame as a and#8216;warand#8217; poet with diligence and empathy.and#8221;and#8212;Jason Cowley, The Financial Times
Review
and#8220;Invaluable insight into a man whose words will be heard often during the upcoming WWI centennial.and#8221;and#8212;Booklist (starred review)
Review
and#8220;Cuthbertson is scrupulous, thoughtful and open-minded. His book is fired with enthusiasm for the poems and respect for the man who created them. The result is a fine biography.and#8221;and#8212;John Sutherland, The Times
Review
and#8216;Guy Cuthbertsonand#8217;s book is an amiable and admiring account of Wilfred Owensand#8217;s slow and often painful discovery of himself, as he made his way from railwaymanand#8217;s son to Army officer and and#8211; after his death in battle and#8211; to famous poet.and#8217;and#8212;Derwent May, Standpoint Magazine
Review
and#8216;[Cuthbertson] score[s] highly as a sensitive and admiring critic of the poetry. . .attuned to the ironies and contradictions of his subject, whom he (surely correctly) portrays as an eternal child and swirling mass of contradictions.and#8217;and#8212;Nigel Jones, The Sunday Telegraph
Review
and#8216;For a long time Owen has been set in stone, his poetry ossifying into anti-war clichand#233;. Cuthbertson has made him live again.and#8217;and#8212;Gary Day, THES
Review
and#8220;Cuthbertsonand#8217;s biography is admirably thorough in its unpacking of Owensand#8217;s poetic imagery. There is no reference that is unexplored.and#8221;and#8212;Daisy Goodwin, The Sunday Times
About the Author
Guy Cuthbertson is senior lecturer in English literature at Liverpool Hope University and an expert on the First World War poets.