Reviews
'Foster's historian's instinct for the radiant revelatory detail isunerring and his narrative skill should be the envy of most novelists. The WBYdelivered to us is set in the welter and cacaphony of a busy life andstruggling, often successfully, to shape that welter and that life to his ownpurposes. The chief glory of Foster's book is the nuanced and sympatheticunderstanding and comprehensive documentation he brings to WBY's personalrelationships. Just as the life demands our closest attention, Foster for hisaccount of it to the Great War, deserves our deepest gratitude.'Gerry Dukes, Irish Independent (Dublin), 'This is the first volume of a work which should, when completed, be the definitive Life of Yeats. Even as it stands it is already a master work. Roy Foster is a first-class scholar, who is thoroughly at ease with his subject, and writes beautifully about it. This is a marvellous book, in awide variety of ways. It is impossible in a relatively short review to give an adequate idea of the riches of this magnificent book.'Conor Cruise O'Brien, The Sunday Telegraph, 'formidably detailed and illuminating book ... Foster has made a wonderful job of it, opting neither for hagiography nor demolition, recounting with gusto all the furores of the day, which still, despite the disclaimer, documenting Yeats' literary development with a discerning eye. Readers ofthis biography will be on tenterhooks awaiting Volume II.'Patricia Craig, New Statesman and Society, 'biography on the heroic scale ... the torrent of detail will engrossfuture researchers'John Carey, The Sunday Times, 'magnificent, richly textured first volume ... this is a quite exceptionalcontribution to the field, and no Yeatsian worth the name will be able to dowithout it ... the fullest and most reliable account of Yeats's career ... Therange of research and the exactitude of the scholarship make this requiredreading: the grace and wit of the style make it enjoyable reading.'John Kelly, The Irish Times (Dublin), "Rich as Yeats's achievements had been, Mr. Foster says in his final paragraph, what lay ahead would be more astonishing. The old magician, apprentice no longer, has found in Mr. Foster a worthy biographer. He would be relieved to know, as readers of Irish writing have known for some years, that the biographer is himself a fine writer, bearing with grace his knowledge of Irish history, and writing with wit, authority and, when appropriate, considerable eloquence."--New York Times Book Review"A wonderful work of scholarship. It turns Yeats around, making us see his poems from within his life and helps us to experience them in a way that both revealing and intensely moving."--Washington Times"The often quite grim youthful experiences, the yearnings, the search for love, the magical evocations of place and time, which we have all known for so long, take on a new and deeper intesnsity as we explore with Mr. Foster their background and their inspiration. This is a great story of Ireland's greatest poet, and it is superbly told."--"With a shrewd sense of irony, Foster vividly evokes the frustrations of Yeats's apprentice years."--Inside Publishing"By showing that the explosion of heroic myths can enhance rather than diminish humanity, Roy Foster's book has opened up new visions not just of Yeats but of the Irish culture he did so much to create."--he Economist Review"In this superb biography, Foster unscrambles destiny and complicates it into life. The most distinguished Irish historian alive, Foster floods his Yeats with historical detail"--James Woods, Slate"Foster has rightly dubbed his biography a 'thick' history of Yeats's life; it's also a smoothly written one that is politically as well as psychologically astute."--The Nation"Mr. Foster has a jeweler's eye for the crystallizing moments in Yeats's development."Wall Street Journal"Foster gives us a considerably more nuanced view of what it means to be a mystic, a holy man, a seer in modern times than Yeats biographers before him. He shows that Yeats was a s much a striver as a seeker--that the poet cannot be understood except as a man on the make, in pursuit of fame, love, and revelation."--Weekly Standard, 'Foster's historian's instinct for the radiant revelatory detail is unerring and his narrative skill should be the envy of most novelists. The WBY delivered to us is set in the welter and cacaphony of a busy life and struggling, often successfully, to shape that welter and that life to his ownpurposes. The chief glory of Foster's book is the nuanced and sympathetic understanding and comprehensive documentation he brings to WBY's personal relationships. Just as the life demands our closest attention, Foster for his account of it to the Great War, deserves our deepest gratitude.'Gerry Dukes, Irish Independent (Dublin), "Rich as Yeats's achievements had been, Mr. Foster says in his final paragraph, what lay ahead would be more astonishing. The old magician, apprentice no longer, has found in Mr. Foster a worthy biographer. He would be relieved to know, as readers of Irish writing have known for some years, that the biographer is himself a fine writer, bearing with grace his knowledge of Irish history, and writing with wit, authority and, when appropriate, considerable eloquence."--New York Times Book Review "A wonderful work of scholarship. It turns Yeats around, making us see his poems from within his life and helps us to experience them in a way that both revealing and intensely moving."--Washington Times "The often quite grim youthful experiences, the yearnings, the search for love, the magical evocations of place and time, which we have all known for so long, take on a new and deeper intesnsity as we explore with Mr. Foster their background and their inspiration. This is a great story of Ireland's greatest poet, and it is superbly told."-- "With a shrewd sense of irony, Foster vividly evokes the frustrations of Yeats's apprentice years."--Inside Publishing "By showing that the explosion of heroic myths can enhance rather than diminish humanity, Roy Foster's book has opened up new visions not just of Yeats but of the Irish culture he did so much to create."--he Economist Review "In this superb biography, Foster unscrambles destiny and complicates it into life. The most distinguished Irish historian alive, Foster floods his Yeats with historical detail"--James Woods,Slate "Foster has rightly dubbed his biography a 'thick' history of Yeats's life; it's also a smoothly written one that is politically as well as psychologically astute."--The Nation "Mr. Foster has a jeweler's eye for the crystallizing moments in Yeats's development."Wall Street Journal "Foster gives us a considerably more nuanced view of what it means to be a mystic, a holy man, a seer in modern times than Yeats biographers before him. He shows that Yeats was a s much a striver as a seeker--that the poet cannot be understood except as a man on the make, in pursuit of fame, love, and revelation."--Weekly Standard, 'Roy Foster, well-known as a social and political historian, is a master of the data, both incidental and essential, of Yeats's career. The book is a mine of information, of various kinds and calibres.'Karl Miller, Financial Times, 'Roy Foster, well-known as a social and political historian, is a masterof the data, both incidental and essential, of Yeats's career. The book is amine of information, of various kinds and calibres.'Karl Miller, Financial Times, 'formidably detailed and illuminating book ... Foster has made a wonderfuljob of it, opting neither for hagiography nor demolition, recounting with gustoall the furores of the day, which still, despite the disclaimer, documentingYeats' literary development with a discerning eye. Readers of this biographywill be on tenterhooks awaiting Volume II.'Patricia Craig, New Statesman and Society, 'Foster's emphasis on "conditions" is especially rewarding for the illumination of Yeats's essays ... His painstaking research allows us to see their evolution in the poet's consciousness and in their usually varied publishing history. This is an amazing work of scholarship, vitalised by theaffinities between Foster and WBY, fastidiously controlled, wonderfully illuminating. May the next volume arrive soon!'Seamus Deane, The Guardian, 'The official biography ... is here at last ... R F Foster has aremarkably shrewd, worldy-wise sort of mind, at once tough and generous, andresists both idolatry and iconoclasm in this magnificently sane account ... aremarkably judicious, even-handed portrait, which in the snake-pit of Irishstudies these days is something of a minor miracle.'Terry Eagleton, The Independent, 'will surely be the definitive life of Yeats for at least a generation ...This is a spellbinding story of a man who himself used and wove spells all hislife ...scholarly but elegantly written book.'Tom Rosenthal, Daily Mail, 'biography on the heroic scale ... the torrent of detail will engross future researchers'John Carey, The Sunday Times, 'will surely be the definitive life of Yeats for at least a generation ... This is a spellbinding story of a man who himself used and wove spells all his life ...scholarly but elegantly written book.'Tom Rosenthal, Daily Mail, 'magnificent, richly textured first volume ... this is a quite exceptional contribution to the field, and no Yeatsian worth the name will be able to do without it ... the fullest and most reliable account of Yeats's career ... The range of research and the exactitude of the scholarship makethis required reading: the grace and wit of the style make it enjoyable reading.'John Kelly, The Irish Times (Dublin), 'This is the first volume of a work which should, when completed, be thedefinitive Life of Yeats. Even as it stands it is already a master work. RoyFoster is a first-class scholar, who is thoroughly at ease with his subject, andwrites beautifully about it. This is a marvellous book, in a wide variety ofways. It is impossible in a relatively short review to give an adequate idea ofthe riches of this magnificent book.'Conor Cruise O'Brien, The Sunday Telegraph, 'lengthy and enthralling first volume of a new life of the poet ... Afterturning the last pages of this book, I am panting for the second volume.'Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The Express, 'lengthy and enthralling first volume of a new life of the poet ... After turning the last pages of this book, I am panting for the second volume.'Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The Express, 'The official biography ... is here at last ... R F Foster has a remarkably shrewd, worldy-wise sort of mind, at once tough and generous, and resists both idolatry and iconoclasm in this magnificently sane account ... a remarkably judicious, even-handed portrait, which in the snake-pit ofIrish studies these days is something of a minor miracle.'Terry Eagleton, The Independent, "Rich as Yeats's achievements had been, Mr. Foster says in his final paragraph, what lay ahead would be more astonishing. The old magician, apprentice no longer, has found in Mr. Foster a worthy biographer. He would be relieved to know, as readers of Irish writing have known for some years, that the biographer is himself a fine writer, bearing with grace his knowledge of Irish history, and writing with wit, authority and, when appropriate, considerable eloquence."--New York Times Book Review "A wonderful work of scholarship. It turns Yeats around, making us see his poems from within his life and helps us to experience them in a way that both revealing and intensely moving."--Washington Times "The often quite grim youthful experiences, the yearnings, the search for love, the magical evocations of place and time, which we have all known for so long, take on a new and deeper intesnsity as we explore with Mr. Foster their background and their inspiration. This is a great story of Ireland's greatest poet, and it is superbly told."-- "With a shrewd sense of irony, Foster vividly evokes the frustrations of Yeats's apprentice years."--Inside Publishing "By showing that the explosion of heroic myths can enhance rather than diminish humanity, Roy Foster's book has opened up new visions not just of Yeats but of the Irish culture he did so much to create."--he Economist Review "In this superb biography, Foster unscrambles destiny and complicates it into life. The most distinguished Irish historian alive, Foster floods his Yeats with historical detail"--James Woods, Slate "Foster has rightly dubbed his biography a 'thick' history of Yeats's life; it's also a smoothly written one that is politically as well as psychologically astute."--The Nation "Mr. Foster has a jeweler's eye for the crystallizing moments in Yeats's development."Wall Street Journal "Foster gives us a considerably more nuanced view of what it means to be a mystic, a holy man, a seer in modern times than Yeats biographers before him. He shows that Yeats was a s much a striver as a seeker--that the poet cannot be understood except as a man on the make, in pursuit of fame, love, and revelation."--Weekly Standard