A selection of Walter de la Mare's greatest poems presented alongside
insightful, reader-friendly commentaries.
Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) was one of the best-loved English
poets of the twentieth century, his verse admired by contemporaries
including Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost, W. H. Auden and T. S. Eliot. This
volume presents a new selection of de la Mare's finest poems, including
perennial favourites such as Napoleon, Fare Well and The
Listeners, for a twenty-first-century audience. The poems are
accompanied by commentaries by William Wootten, which build up a
portrait of de la Mare's life, loves and friendships with the likes of
Hardy, Rupert Brooke, Edward Thomas and Katherine Mansfield. They also
point out the fascinating references to literature, folklore and the
natural world that embroider the verse.