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Auden

Brief Description
Peter Ackroyd's compelling portrait of W. H. Auden, poet of a restless century. Of all the English poets born in the twentieth century, Wystan Hugh Auden is by far the most significant. This forthright biography explores the evolution of his poetic voice in tandem with his... Read More
Format: Hardback
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Peter Ackroyd's compelling portrait of W. H. Auden, poet of a restless century.

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Peter Ackroyd's compelling portrait of W. H. Auden, poet of a restless century.

Of all the English poets born in the twentieth century, Wystan Hugh Auden is by far the most significant. This forthright biography explores the evolution of his poetic voice in tandem with his shifting beliefs—Existentialism, Marxism, Freudianism, and Anglo-Catholicism—reflecting the intellectual climate of the century. Rooted in English traditions, Auden's work reveals both public and personal histories, from the Great Depression and Spanish Civil War to his experiences as a gay man navigating repression and later liberation.

Auden traces his journeys from Oxford to Berlin, China, and America, bringing to life his turbulent era and the inner conflicts of his long relationship with Chester Kallman. This insightful and compelling account by acclaimed historian Peter Ackroyd captures Auden's genius as both a historical witness and an enduring poetic voice.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781836391722

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 01 March 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Reaktion Books

Illustration: 23 illustrations

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 156.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 400

About the Author

Peter Ackroyd is one of Britain's most respected historians and novelists. His many books include London: The Biography, Hawksmoor, and the History of England series.

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