Auden

By Richard Davenport-Hines

Published Jan 2010

WH Auden was the greatest English poet of the twentieth century. This biography is based on a mass of new material which makes possible a bold reappraisal of his life and work. Auden wrote about the anguish and bafflement of the twentieth century. This biography is not only a study of the life and ideas of a great poet, but a commentary on the wars, ideologies, spiritual questioning and sexual attitudes of the century in which he lived.

This biography is a study of a man who was supremely dedicated as a writer – a model of what it means to be a poet – and is also a book which delves into and examines Auden’s immensely challenging theories of living.