Pictures of Bermondsey & Rotherhithe

Roses & Rain

Roses and Rain, by Heather Walker, is a comprehensive exploration of
the life and work of James Elroy Flecker, poet, playwright and
novelist. This full-length biography explores Flecker's Cotswold
childhood, his school life at Dean Close, where his father was the
headmaster, Uppingham, Oxford, and Cambridge. Walker then explores his
career in the Levant Consular Service, his marriage to Greek Poetess
Hellé and his attempts, despite ill-health, homesickness and lack of
money, to establish himself as a writer. Walker s meticulous research
provides an insight into not only Flecker s short life but also the
lives of other salient contemporaries such as Rupert Brooke, Ronald
Firbank and Lawrence of Arabia. The narrative skilfully builds a
picture of the formative events in Flecker's life, which enables the
reader to observe the evolution of this gifted young poet. Roses and
Rain also presents a reproduction of the original manuscript of his
most famous poem, The Golden Journey to Samarkand, and other citations
from Flecker s published and unpublished works. After Flecker's
untimely death in 1915, at the age of 30, his play Hassan was produced
on stage to great acclaim and continues to be performed today. Roses
and Rain is the first Flecker biography to be published in over 30
years.

£16.99 only