Wanderlust – förlag

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835 and is far better known by his pen name; Mark Twain. An American author and humorist of the first order he is perhaps most famous for his novels, The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876, and its sequel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1885 and often described with that mythic line - "the Great American Novel." Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the backdrop for these great novels. Apprenticed to a printer he also worked as a typesetter but eventually became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Later, heading west with his brother, Orion to make his fortune he failed at gold mining and instead turned to journalism and found his true calling as a writer of humorous stories. His wit and humour sparkle from every page, his craft evident with every phase and punctured target. Of course as a master of his craft his observations on people, situations and locations create a fabric of great texture and detail and this reflects across short stories, novels and his travel writings. Twain was born during a visit by Halley''s Comet, and predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet''s subsequent return in 1910. Here we present A Tramp Abroad.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835 and is far better known by his pen name; Mark Twain. An American author and humorist of the first order he is perhaps most famous for his novels, The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876, and its sequel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1885 and often described with that mythic line - "the Great American Novel." Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the backdrop for these great novels. Apprenticed to a printer he also worked as a typesetter but eventually became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Later, heading west with his brother, Orion to make his fortune he failed at gold mining and instead turned to journalism and found his true calling as a writer of humorous stories. His wit and humour sparkle from every page, his craft evident with every phase and punctured target. Of course as a master of his craft his observations on people, situations and locations create a fabric of great texture and detail and this reflects across short stories, novels and his travel writings. Twain was born during a visit by Halley''s Comet, and predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet''s subsequent return in 1910. Here we present Following The Equator.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835 and is far better known by his pen name; Mark Twain. An American author and humorist of the first order he is perhaps most famous for his novels, The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876, and its sequel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1885 and often described with that mythic line - "the Great American Novel." Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the backdrop for these great novels. Apprenticed to a printer he also worked as a typesetter but eventually became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Later, heading west with his brother, Orion to make his fortune he failed at gold mining and instead turned to journalism and found his true calling as a writer of humorous stories. His wit and humour sparkle from every page, his craft evident with every phase and punctured target. Of course as a master of his craft his observations on people, situations and locations create a fabric of great texture and detail and this reflects across short stories, novels and his travel writings. Twain was born during a visit by Halley''s Comet, and predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet''s subsequent return in 1910. Here we present Life On The Mississippi.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835 and is far better known by his pen name; Mark Twain. An American author and humorist of the first order he is perhaps most famous for his novels, The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876, and its sequel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1885 and often described with that mythic line - "the Great American Novel." Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the backdrop for these great novels. Apprenticed to a printer he also worked as a typesetter but eventually became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Later, heading west with his brother, Orion to make his fortune he failed at gold mining and instead turned to journalism and found his true calling as a writer of humorous stories. His wit and humour sparkle from every page, his craft evident with every phase and punctured target. Of course as a master of his craft his observations on people, situations and locations create a fabric of great texture and detail and this reflects across short stories, novels and his travel writings. Twain was born during a visit by Halley''s Comet, and predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet''s subsequent return in 1910. Here we present Roughing it.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in 1835 and is far better known by his pen name; Mark Twain. An American author and humorist of the first order he is perhaps most famous for his novels, The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, written in 1876, and its sequel, The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, written in 1885 and often described with that mythic line - "the Great American Novel." Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the backdrop for these great novels. Apprenticed to a printer he also worked as a typesetter but eventually became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River. Later, heading west with his brother, Orion to make his fortune he failed at gold mining and instead turned to journalism and found his true calling as a writer of humorous stories. His wit and humour sparkle from every page, his craft evident with every phase and punctured target. Of course as a master of his craft his observations on people, situations and locations create a fabric of great texture and detail and this reflects across short stories, novels and his travel writings. Twain was born during a visit by Halley''s Comet, and predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet''s subsequent return in 1910. Here we present The Innocents Abroad.

Henry James was born on 15 April 1843 and is regarded as one of the great literary figures of 19th Century writing. Born in New York, he moved between there and Europe, being tutored in Geneva, London, Paris, Bologna, and Bonn. At the age of 19 he briefly attended Harvard Law School, but preferred reading literature to studying law and settled the next year in England. As well as an outstanding author he was also a dramatist, travel writer and most passionately, a literary critic. He advocated that all writers should be allowed the greatest possible freedom in presenting their view of the world. Here, he shows his skill as a travel writer. He became a British subject in 1915, a year before his death on 28th February 1916.

John Muir was born in Scotland on April 21st, 1838. His Father wanted his children to have a stricter Religious upbringing and therefore moved the family to the United States. John Muir is perhaps known today as the most pre-eminent naturalist and advocate for the preservation of much of the western United States. Today being an environmentalist is laudable but in Muir’s days the country was there to be exploited but by hard work and lobbying Muir did much to turn such beautiful areas as Yosemite into protected National Parks. His writing is not only an invaluable guidebook to these unspoilt places but also a hymn to their spirituality. As a keen scientific mind he helped to push the understanding of nature forward by observing and writing upon the glaciers and their actions in eroding and shaping much of the land. Muir helped to also create The Sierra Club, which he led for many years, on projects to preserve these and other areas of outstanding natural beauty. He was equally adept at persuading politicians, from Presidents to local State officials, and the common man to come together in the defence of Nature.

John Muir was born in Scotland on April 21st, 1838. His Father wanted his children to have a stricter Religious upbringing and therefore moved the family to the United States. John Muir is perhaps known today as the most pre-eminent naturalist and advocate for the preservation of much of the western United States. Today being an environmentalist is laudable but in Muir’s days the country was there to be exploited but by hard work and lobbying Muir did much to turn such beautiful areas as Yosemite into protected National Parks. His writing is not only an invaluable guidebook to these unspoilt places but also a hymn to their spirituality. As a keen scientific mind he helped to push the understanding of nature forward by observing and writing upon the glaciers and their actions in eroding and shaping much of the land. Muir helped to also create The Sierra Club, which he led for many years, on projects to preserve these and other areas of outstanding natural beauty. He was equally adept at persuading politicians, from Presidents to local State officials, and the common man to come together in the defence of Nature.

John Muir was born in Scotland on April 21st, 1838. His Father wanted his children to have a stricter Religious upbringing and therefore moved the family to the United States. John Muir is perhaps known today as the most pre-eminent naturalist and advocate for the preservation of much of the western United States. Today being an environmentalist is laudable but in Muir’s days the country was there to be exploited but by hard work and lobbying Muir did much to turn such beautiful areas as Yosemite into protected National Parks. His writing is not only an invaluable guidebook to these unspoilt places but also a hymn to their spirituality. As a keen scientific mind he helped to push the understanding of nature forward by observing and writing upon the glaciers and their actions in eroding and shaping much of the land. Muir helped to also create The Sierra Club, which he led for many years, on projects to preserve these and other areas of outstanding natural beauty. He was equally adept at persuading politicians, from Presidents to local State officials, and the common man to come together in the defence of Nature.

John Muir was born in Scotland on April 21st, 1838. His Father wanted his children to have a stricter Religious upbringing and therefore moved the family to the United States. John Muir is perhaps known today as the most pre-eminent naturalist and advocate for the preservation of much of the western United States. Today being an environmentalist is laudable but in Muir’s days the country was there to be exploited but by hard work and lobbying Muir did much to turn such beautiful areas as Yosemite into protected National Parks. His writing is not only an invaluable guidebook to these unspoilt places but also a hymn to their spirituality. As a keen scientific mind he helped to push the understanding of nature forward by observing and writing upon the glaciers and their actions in eroding and shaping much of the land. Muir helped to also create The Sierra Club, which he led for many years, on projects to preserve these and other areas of outstanding natural beauty. He was equally adept at persuading politicians, from Presidents to local State officials, and the common man to come together in the defence of Nature.

John Muir was born in Scotland on April 21st, 1838. His Father wanted his children to have a stricter Religious upbringing and therefore moved the family to the United States. John Muir is perhaps known today as the most pre-eminent naturalist and advocate for the preservation of much of the western United States. Today being an environmentalist is laudable but in Muir’s days the country was there to be exploited but by hard work and lobbying Muir did much to turn such beautiful areas as Yosemite into protected National Parks. His writing is not only an invaluable guidebook to these unspoilt places but also a hymn to their spirituality. As a keen scientific mind he helped to push the understanding of nature forward by observing and writing upon the glaciers and their actions in eroding and shaping much of the land. Muir helped to also create The Sierra Club, which he led for many years, on projects to preserve these and other areas of outstanding natural beauty. He was equally adept at persuading politicians, from Presidents to local State officials, and the common man to come together in the defence of Nature.

Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8th, 1828 on Île Feydeau, a small artificial island on the Loire River in Nantes. His father wanted his son to take over the family law practice. Jules started along this course and despite graduating with a licence en droit in January 1851 was soon diverted by the lure of literature and by his own ambitious talents in this direction. He wrote for the theatre and for magazines and soon with the publication of his first novel; Five Weeks in a Balloon on January 31st, 1863 he had begun his career as an admired and popular author. For many, many years the works flowed, usually no less than and often more than two volumes per year. His meticulous research and imaginative setting and narratives soon established him as a top selling author and he became both famous and wealthy. By publishing firstly as a serialised book and then as a complete book sales swelled as did his reputation. His earnings increased further due to the runaway success from the stage adaptations of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1874) and Michel Strogoff (1876), Strangely he was overlooked for honours. He was not even nominated for membership of the Académie Française. After the death of both his mother and Hetzel, Jules began to publish darker works but still at a prodigious rate. In 1888, Jules entered politics and was elected town councillor of Amiens, and then served for fifteen years. Jules was now entering the last period of his life. His works continued to flow albeit at a slower pace. His reconciled with his son, Michel who now became an active contributor to his father’s works and, when the senior Verne died, would continue to contribute and publish his father’s works, ensuring that the work was kept in the public eye and the legacy preserved. On March 24th, 1905, while ill with diabetes, Jules Verne died at his home at 44 Boulevard Longueville, Amiens. As a legacy Jules Verne is forever remembered as ‘The Father of Science Fiction’. With his rigorous research Jules was not only able to make his works realistic but also to project forward and predict many new things that would eventually come to pass – either in real life or as the basis for others to use in their own science fiction. Extraordinary indeed.

Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8th, 1828 on Île Feydeau, a small artificial island on the Loire River in Nantes. His father wanted his son to take over the family law practice. Jules started along this course and despite graduating with a licence en droit in January 1851 was soon diverted by the lure of literature and by his own ambitious talents in this direction. He wrote for the theatre and for magazines and soon with the publication of his first novel; Five Weeks in a Balloon on January 31st, 1863 he had begun his career as an admired and popular author. For many, many years the works flowed, usually no less than and often more than two volumes per year. His meticulous research and imaginative setting and narratives soon established him as a top selling author and he became both famous and wealthy. By publishing firstly as a serialised book and then as a complete book sales swelled as did his reputation. His earnings increased further due to the runaway success from the stage adaptations of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1874) and Michel Strogoff (1876), Strangely he was overlooked for honours. He was not even nominated for membership of the Académie Française. After the death of both his mother and Hetzel, Jules began to publish darker works but still at a prodigious rate. In 1888, Jules entered politics and was elected town councillor of Amiens, and then served for fifteen years. Jules was now entering the last period of his life. His works continued to flow albeit at a slower pace. His reconciled with his son, Michel who now became an active contributor to his father’s works and, when the senior Verne died, would continue to contribute and publish his father’s works, ensuring that the work was kept in the public eye and the legacy preserved. On March 24th, 1905, while ill with diabetes, Jules Verne died at his home at 44 Boulevard Longueville, Amiens. As a legacy Jules Verne is forever remembered as ‘The Father of Science Fiction’. With his rigorous research Jules was not only able to make his works realistic but also to project forward and predict many new things that would eventually come to pass – either in real life or as the basis for others to use in their own science fiction. Extraordinary indeed.

Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8th, 1828 on Île Feydeau, a small artificial island on the Loire River in Nantes. His father wanted his son to take over the family law practice. Jules started along this course and despite graduating with a licence en droit in January 1851 was soon diverted by the lure of literature and by his own ambitious talents in this direction. He wrote for the theatre and for magazines and soon with the publication of his first novel; Five Weeks in a Balloon on January 31st, 1863 he had begun his career as an admired and popular author. For many, many years the works flowed, usually no less than and often more than two volumes per year. His meticulous research and imaginative setting and narratives soon established him as a top selling author and he became both famous and wealthy. By publishing firstly as a serialised book and then as a complete book sales swelled as did his reputation. His earnings increased further due to the runaway success from the stage adaptations of Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1874) and Michel Strogoff (1876), Strangely he was overlooked for honours. He was not even nominated for membership of the Académie Française. After the death of both his mother and Hetzel, Jules began to publish darker works but still at a prodigious rate. In 1888, Jules entered politics and was elected town councillor of Amiens, and then served for fifteen years. Jules was now entering the last period of his life. His works continued to flow albeit at a slower pace. His reconciled with his son, Michel who now became an active contributor to his father’s works and, when the senior Verne died, would continue to contribute and publish his father’s works, ensuring that the work was kept in the public eye and the legacy preserved. On March 24th, 1905, while ill with diabetes, Jules Verne died at his home at 44 Boulevard Longueville, Amiens. As a legacy Jules Verne is forever remembered as ‘The Father of Science Fiction’. With his rigorous research Jules was not only able to make his works realistic but also to project forward and predict many new things that would eventually come to pass – either in real life or as the basis for others to use in their own science fiction. Extraordinary indeed.

Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. was born on May 6, 1856 in Cresson, Pennsylvania. The early death of his father when Peary was 3 dictated that he and his mother moved to Portland, Maine. His senior education took place at Bowdon College and he graduated in 1877 with a Civil Engineering degree. For Peary his overriding ambition became the North Pole. It was a dream that had also obsessed many others. His first exploration attempt was Greenland in 1886. He managed just 100 miles before turning back. In 1891 he broke his leg but the recuperation enabled him to more clearly define how to achieve his ambition. Inuit survival techniques were now researched and this gave him valuable insight. By 1892 he had established that Greenland was an island. In his 1898–1902 expedition, he claimed an 1899 visual discovery of "Jesup Land" west of Ellesmere. Peary also achieved a "farthest north" for the western hemisphere in 1902 north of Canada''s Ellesmere Island. Peary''s next expedition was supported by a $50,000 gift. Peary used the money for a new ship. The SS Roosevelt battled its way through the ice between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, establishing an American hemisphere "farthest north by ship." The 1906 "Peary System" dogsled drive for the pole across the rough sea ice of the Arctic Ocean started from the north tip of Ellesmere at 83° north latitude. The parties made well under 10 miles (16 km) a day until they became separated by a storm. Peary was without a companion sufficiently trained in navigation to verify his account from that point northward. With insufficient food, and with uncertainty about whether he could negotiate the ice between him and land, he made the best possible dash and barely escaped with his life off the melting ice. On April 20, he was no further north than 86°30'' latitude. He claimed the next day to have achieved a Farthest North world record at 87°06'' and returned to 86°30'' without camping, an implied trip of at least 72 nautical miles (133 km) between sleeping, even assuming direct travel with no detours. There is little doubt that although greatly honoured for his expeditions that Peary was rather elastic with the truth. For his final assault on the Pole, Peary and 23 men, including Ross Gilmore Marvin, set off from New York City on July 6, 1908 aboard the S.S. Roosevelt under the command of Captain Robert Bartlett. They wintered near Cape Sheridan on Ellesmere Island, and from Ellesmere departed for the pole on February 28 – March 1, 1909. This book relates that attempt on the North Pole. Subsequent to the attempt Peary was promoted to the rank of captain in the Navy on October 20, 1910. By his lobbying, Peary was eventually recognized by Congress to have "attained" the pole (not "discoverer" in deference to 1908 North Pole claimant Frederick Cook''s supporters), Peary was given the Thanks of Congress by a special act of March 3, 1911. By a special act of Congress on March 30, 1911, Peary was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps retroactive to April 6, 1909, and retired the same day. In early 1916, Peary became chairman of the National Aerial Coast Patrol Commission. It advocated the use of aircraft in detecting warships and submarines off the U.S. coast. Peary used his celebrity to promote the use of military and naval aviation, which led directly to the formation of Naval Reserve aerial coastal patrol units during the First World War. At the close of the First World War, Peary proposed a system of eight air mail routes, which became the genesis of the U.S. Postal Service''s air mail system. Admiral Robert Edwin Peary died in Washington, D.C. on February 20, 1920. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen was born on February 24th, 1848 at Alwington, near Kingston, Canada West (now part of Ontario). Home schooled until 13 when his family moved to England, Grant was to become a highly regarded science writer who branched out to a fiction career and became enormously popular. His work helped propel several genres of fiction and whilst his career was short it was enormously productive. Grant’s scientific background enabled him to root much of his work in a plausibility that was denied to others. He had little fear in challenging a society that treated women as second class citizens and creating best sellers from such works. On October 25th 1899 Grant Allen died at his home in Hindhead, Haslemere, Surrey, England. He died just before finishing Hilda Wade. The novel''s final episode, which he dictated to his friend, doctor and neighbour Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from his bed appeared under the appropriate title, The Episode of the Dead Man Who Spoke in 1900.

Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen was born on February 24th, 1848 at Alwington, near Kingston, Canada West (now part of Ontario). Home schooled until 13 when his family moved to England, Grant was to become a highly regarded science writer who branched out to a fiction career and became enormously popular. His work helped propel several genres of fiction and whilst his career was short it was enormously productive. Grant’s scientific background enabled him to root much of his work in a plausibility that was denied to others. He had little fear in challenging a society that treated women as second class citizens and creating best sellers from such works. On October 25th 1899 Grant Allen died at his home in Hindhead, Haslemere, Surrey, England. He died just before finishing Hilda Wade. The novel''s final episode, which he dictated to his friend, doctor and neighbour Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from his bed appeared under the appropriate title, The Episode of the Dead Man Who Spoke in 1900.

Charles Edward Montague was born in London on New Year’s Day, 1867 and educated at the City of London School and then Balliol College, Oxford. At university, Montague, a keen writer, wrote several literary reviews for the Manchester Guardian and was then invited for a month’s trial and, after impressing, to work there. Montague and the editor, C. P. Scott shared the same political views and between them they turned the Manchester Guardian into a vibrant and campaigning newspaper. They were for Irish Home Rule and against the Boer War and the First World War. But now that the war had begun. Montague believed that it was important to give full and unequivocal support to the British government. Despite his age, 47, he was determined to serve. Montague was soon promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and with it a transfer to Military Intelligence. The war also brought about a crisis in his faith and it was resolved by Montague temporarily putting it to one side and carrying on with the fighting. In November 1918 the war was over and Montague could now return home to his wife and family and also to the Manchester Guardian where he would continue to work until retirement in 1925. For Montague the war had been corrosive but it had given him much to write about both for the paper but also for his books which he now hoped to also spend more time on. Among those to flow from his pen are the novels A Hind Let Loose and Rough Justice as well as collections of short stories, other essays and a travel book. He finally retired in 1925, and settled down to become a full-time writer in the last years of his life. Charles Edward Montague died in Manchester on May 28th, 1928 at the age of 61.

The great author of Vanity Fair and The Luck Of Barry Lyndon was born in India in 1811. At age 5 his father died and his mother sent him back to England. His education was of the best but he himself seemed unable to apply his talents to a rigorous work ethic. However, once he harnessed his talents the works flowed in novels, articles, short stories, sketches and lectures. Sadly, his personal life was rather more difficult. After a few years of marriage his wife began to suffer from depression and over the years became detached from reality. Thackeray himself suffered from ill health later in his life and the one pursuit that kept him moving forward was that of writing. In his life time, he was placed second only to Dickens. High praise indeed.

Daniel Defoe is most well-known for his classic novels Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. Born around 1660, he was also a journalist, a pamphleteer, a businessman, a spy. His life was long and colourful, and the breadth of his work, still highly regarded, is infused with similar vigour. It is said that only the bible has been printed in more languages than Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is also noted for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel. He was extremely prolific and a very versatile writer, producing several hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of economic journalism though was made bankrupt on more on one occasion and usually mired in debt. In later life Defoe was often most seen on Sundays when bailiffs and the like could legally make no move on him. Allegedly it was whilst hiding from creditors that he died on April 24th, 1731. He was interred in Bunhill Fields, London.

Daniel Defoe is most well-known for his classic novels Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders. Born around 1660, he was also a journalist, a pamphleteer, a businessman, a spy. His life was long and colourful, and the breadth of his work, still highly regarded, is infused with similar vigour. It is said that only the bible has been printed in more languages than Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is also noted for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel. He was extremely prolific and a very versatile writer, producing several hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on various topics including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of economic journalism though was made bankrupt on more on one occasion and usually mired in debt. In later life Defoe was often most seen on Sundays when bailiffs and the like could legally make no move on him. Allegedly it was whilst hiding from creditors that he died on April 24th, 1731. He was interred in Bunhill Fields, London.

Philip Edward Thomas was born on 3rd March, 1878 at 14 Lansdowne Gardens in Stockwell, Lambeth, which was then a part of Surrey. His family had a rich Welsh heritage.

Thomas was educated at Battersea Grammar School before proceeding to St Paul''s School in London and then becoming a history scholar, between 1898-1900, at Lincoln College, Oxford.

Whilst still studying for his degree he married Helen Berenice Noble in June, 1899, in Fulham, London. Thomas had already decided by this time to fashion a career out of literature.

As a book reviewer he reviewed in the order of fifteen books a week and began to be published as both a literary critic, for the Daily Chronicle, and as a biographer. His writing talents also extended to writing on the countryside and, in 1913, a novel, The Happy-Go-Lucky Morgans was published.

Thomas is also responsible for the shepherding and mentoring of the career of maverick tramp poet W. H. Davies during the early years of the 20th Century. Despite Davies’s years of wanderlust he was encouraged to take up accommodation in a small cottage near to where Thomas, Helen and his family lived at Elses Farm, near Sevenoaks in Kent.

Ironically although Thomas believed that poetry was the highest form of literature and reviewed poetry books often it was only in 1914 that he began to write poetry himself. By this time, he was living at Steep, East Hampshire, and his early poems were published under the pseudonym of ‘Edward Eastaway’.

The American poet Robert Frost, who was living in England at the time, went to some lengths to encourage Thomas to continue writing poetry. Their friendship became so close that they planned to reside side by side in the United States. Frost''s classic poem, "The Road Not Taken", was inspired by his long walks with Thomas and the latter’s indecisiveness about which route to take.

Thomas wrote several revered poems. For many his lines on the now abandoned railway station at Adlestrop, written after his train made a stop at the Cotswolds station on 24th June, 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War are his best.

Europe was now to be engulfed in a monumental armed struggle and many writers, poets and painters heeded the call to become part of the tide of humanity to serve their countries.

Thomas enlisted in the Artists Rifles in July 1915, despite being a mature married man who could have avoided enlisting without too much difficulty.

He was promoted to corporal, and by November 1916 had been commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery as a second lieutenant.

Philip Edward Thomas was killed in action soon after his arrival in France at Arras on Easter Monday, 9th April 1917. To soften the blow to his widow Helen, a fiction was concocted of a "bloodless death"; that Thomas was killed by the concussive blast wave from an exploding shell as he stood to light his pipe and that there was no mark on his body. (It was only decades later that a letter from his commanding officer, Franklin Lushington, written in 1936, was discovered stating that Thomas had been "shot clean through the chest".)

W. H. Davies was devastated by the death and his commemorative poem "Killed In Action (Edward Thomas)" is a moving tribute to the loss of his friend.

Thomas is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Agny in France (Row C, Grave 43).

As a poet Thomas’s career was short but he has been grouped with the War Poets though his output of war poems is short in number, especially when set against those that feature the countryside. Aside from his poems and a novel Thomas wrote frequent essays and a number of travel books.

On Armistice Day, 11th November, 1985, Thomas was among the 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey''s Poet''s Corner. The inscription, written by fellow poet Wilfred Owen, reads: "My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity."

Thomas was described by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes as "the father of us all."

Philip Edward Thomas was born on 3rd March, 1878 at 14 Lansdowne Gardens in Stockwell, Lambeth, which was then a part of Surrey. His family had a rich Welsh heritage.

Thomas was educated at Battersea Grammar School before proceeding to St Paul''s School in London and then becoming a history scholar, between 1898-1900, at Lincoln College, Oxford.

Whilst still studying for his degree he married Helen Berenice Noble in June, 1899, in Fulham, London. Thomas had already decided by this time to fashion a career out of literature.

As a book reviewer he reviewed in the order of fifteen books a week and began to be published as both a literary critic, for the Daily Chronicle, and as a biographer. His writing talents also extended to writing on the countryside and, in 1913, a novel, The Happy-Go-Lucky Morgans was published.

Thomas is also responsible for the shepherding and mentoring of the career of maverick tramp poet W. H. Davies during the early years of the 20th Century. Despite Davies’s years of wanderlust he was encouraged to take up accommodation in a small cottage near to where Thomas, Helen and his family lived at Elses Farm, near Sevenoaks in Kent.

Ironically although Thomas believed that poetry was the highest form of literature and reviewed poetry books often it was only in 1914 that he began to write poetry himself. By this time, he was living at Steep, East Hampshire, and his early poems were published under the pseudonym of ‘Edward Eastaway’.

The American poet Robert Frost, who was living in England at the time, went to some lengths to encourage Thomas to continue writing poetry. Their friendship became so close that they planned to reside side by side in the United States. Frost''s classic poem, "The Road Not Taken", was inspired by his long walks with Thomas and the latter’s indecisiveness about which route to take.

Thomas wrote several revered poems. For many his lines on the now abandoned railway station at Adlestrop, written after his train made a stop at the Cotswolds station on 24th June, 1914, shortly before the outbreak of the First World War are his best.

Europe was now to be engulfed in a monumental armed struggle and many writers, poets and painters heeded the call to become part of the tide of humanity to serve their countries.

Thomas enlisted in the Artists Rifles in July 1915, despite being a mature married man who could have avoided enlisting without too much difficulty.

He was promoted to corporal, and by November 1916 had been commissioned into the Royal Garrison Artillery as a second lieutenant.

Philip Edward Thomas was killed in action soon after his arrival in France at Arras on Easter Monday, 9th April 1917. To soften the blow to his widow Helen, a fiction was concocted of a "bloodless death"; that Thomas was killed by the concussive blast wave from an exploding shell as he stood to light his pipe and that there was no mark on his body. (It was only decades later that a letter from his commanding officer, Franklin Lushington, written in 1936, was discovered stating that Thomas had been "shot clean through the chest".)

W. H. Davies was devastated by the death and his commemorative poem "Killed In Action (Edward Thomas)" is a moving tribute to the loss of his friend.

Thomas is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery at Agny in France (Row C, Grave 43).

As a poet Thomas’s career was short but he has been grouped with the War Poets though his output of war poems is short in number, especially when set against those that feature the countryside. Aside from his poems and a novel Thomas wrote frequent essays and a number of travel books.

On Armistice Day, 11th November, 1985, Thomas was among the 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey''s Poet''s Corner. The inscription, written by fellow poet Wilfred Owen, reads: "My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity."

Thomas was described by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes as "the father of us all."

Thomas Burke was born Sydney Thomas Burke on November 29th, 1886 in Eltham, London (at the time it was part of Kent).

An author in the early years of the century who brought his skills of pen and eye to parts of London, specifically the Limehouse district of the East End and wrote with drive and vigour about the characters he met and the places that he knew. Whether he turned that material into fiction or non-fiction he words seep quality. His work ranged from these wonderful vignettes of down at heel London to writings on homosexuality and the English Countryside.

Thomas Burke died in the Homeopathic Hospital in Queens Square, Bloomsbury on 22 September 1945.

Now sadly neglected we hope that the reprinting of his earlier works might once again give him the prominence and respect his talents deserve.