"The enduring appeal of A. E. Housman's lyrical English poem, A
Shropshire Lad, first published in 1896, lies perhaps in its gentle
accessibility and in its universal theme of loss, of love and the
passage of time. Certainly its popularity today appears undiminished as
it continues to console and delight.
The timeless quality of the Shropshire countryside, from the bucolic
Clun valley to the bleak hills of Caer Caradoc, is captured by one of
Shropshire's finest wildlife and landscape photographers, Gareth
Thomas.
Christopher Ricks, Professor of Poetry at Oxford University and
President of the Housman Society, has written a thought-provoking
introduction to this edition, touching on some of the reasons for the
poem's lasting popularity, including its unusual combination of
classical fortitude and romantic yearning.
The biographical sketch of Housman by Ludlow historian David Lloyd sets
the poem in context. "