Betjeman: The Bonus Of Laughter - Hardcover

Hillier, Bevis

9780719564956: Betjeman: The Bonus Of Laughter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0719564956 ISBN 13: 9780719564956

Publisher: John Murray Pubs Ltd, 2004

John Betjeman was the most read of living poets and, at his death in 1984, was the most loved. Here he is portrayed by Bevis Hillier in 'one of the richest and most entertaining biographies of recent times.' In this final volume, Betjeman is at the height of his fame, universally adopted as Teddy Bear to the Nation. By now he is known not just as a poet, but as a television personality too. He is also the essential public face of conservation, fighting -- not always with great efficiency or success -- to save our heritage. We live with him the triumph of Summoned by Bells, his richly emotional autobiography in verse, but also follow his tribulations as Poet Laureate, despairingly in search of inspiration in the bombastic events of royal and public life. Perhaps least expected of all is the pleasure he found in Banana Blush, the poems he recorded to the music of Jim Parker. As before, Bevis Hillier reveals the origins of Betjeman's most loved poems; brings to life his loves and enthusiasms; shows how important his religion, his love of laughter and his often hidden kindnesses were in his life; and reminds us of his particular hates.

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About the Author:

Bevis Hillier has dedicated more than twenty-five years to writing Betjeman's life, a task entrusted to him by the poet himself. Patrick Taylor-Martin wrote: 'It is impossible to imagine the job done by anyone more intelligent, industrious or sympathetic.' He is an authority on eighteenth-century English ceramics and on Art Deco -- on which he wrote the first English book in 1968. He edited Betjeman's Uncollected Poems (now included in Collected Poems), compiled John Betjeman: A Life in Pictures ('a heavenly book', A.L. Rowse) and is the author of Young Betjeman and John Betjeman: New Fame, New Love. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Society of Literature.

Review:

'Not the least of Betjamin's achievements was to secure Bevis Hillier as his biographer...a monumental study' -- Times Literary Supplement 20041203 'An awe-inspiring piece of scholarship, presented with touching warmth and affection ... Betjeman has had the best and most sympathetic biographer he could have wished for' -- Artemis Cooper, Evening Standard 20041203 'Betjeman's place is not just in literature. As Hillier's detailed, often hilarious, and very poignant Ordnance Survey map suggest, Betjeman is also significant in the history of English society and taste, a 20th century addition to that very special gallery which includes Dr Johnson, Horace Walpole and Oscar Wilde' -- Duncan Fallowell, The Express 20041203 'Hillier's monumental approach to biography would be justified, because he paints not just an individual but a species ... Hillier's enthralling, many-voiced biography, the fruit of 28 years' research and inquiry, is an awesome achievement. But it is no more than Betjeman's due.' -- John Carey, Sunday Times 20041203 'It is part of Mr Hillier's achievement that, while laying bare so many of Betjeman's foibles ! one still thinks of him as a great man.' -- Country Life 20041111 'An impressive piece of work' -- Scotsman 20050723 'Hillier's enthralling, many-voiced biography is an awesome achievement. But it is no more than Betjeman's due' -- John Carey, Sunday Times 'A triumph' -- Spectator 'Fascinating' -- Humphrey Carpenter, Sunday Times 'Strikes just the right note.' -- Telegraph 20041113 'A mosaic in which the true face of the man and his time is revealed' -- Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday 20041113 'The chubbiest, juiciest book of the year' -- Barry Humphries, Daily Telegraph 20041128 'Sharply perceptive ... compelling ... A biography this good abolishes time in its own way, and triumphantly ensures Betjeman's survival' -- Peter Conrad, Observer 20041128 'An awe-inspiring piece of scholarship ... Betjeman has had the best and most sympathetic biographer he could have wished for' -- Artemis Cooper, Evening Standard 20041128 'Hilarious and very poignant' -- Duncan Fallowell, Express 20041128 'Immensely detailed, intelligent, generous, sympathetic, and often entertaining' -- Allan Massie, Literary Review 20041128 'A mosaic in which the true face of the man and his times is revealed' -- Mail on Sunday 20041128 'Hillier's labours on behalf of Betjeman are a mighty enterprise.' -- The Independent 20041128 'It completes a trilogy whose grace, leisure and generosity of time and spirit is as anachronistic as Betjeman's perfectly metred, melancholy anti-modernist verse.' -- Financial Times 20041128 'A pleasure to read and use.' -- Evening Standard 20041128 'Fascinating and delightful.' -- Financial Times 20041128 'Hillier's affection for his subject shines through' -- The Sunday Times, Ian Critchley 20041128

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