- Hardcover: 600 pages
- Publisher: Faber And Faber Ltd. (Dec 21 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0571239099
- ISBN-13: 978-0571239092
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.5 x 4.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 780 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #285,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
This remarkable unpublished correspondence between Philip Larking and Monica Jones—his correspondent, lover and closest confidante—consists of nearly two thousand letters, postcards and telegrams, which chronicle—day by day, sometimes hour by hour—every aspect of Larkin’s life and the convolutions of their relationship that lasted over forty years until the poet’s death in 1985. The letters deal extensively with other writers, living and dead (D.H. Lawrence, Hardy, Katherine Mansfield, Kipling, Dickens, Kingsley Amis) and with the experiences that shaped Larkin’s poems.
About the Author
Philip Larkin was born in 1922 and grew up in Coventry. In 1955 he became Librarian of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, a post he held until his death in 1985. He was the best-loved poet of his generation and the recipient of innumerable honours, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry and the W.H. Smith Award. As one of Philip Larkin's chosen literary executors, Anthony Thwaite edited the Collected Poems, Selected Letters and Further Requirements. His own Collected Poems, drawing on fifty years work, was published in 2007.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost an Autobiography, Aug 30 2011
By Roger Keen - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Letters To Monica (Hardcover)
This marvellous book is the closest we'll ever get to an autobiography of Larkin, and is fitting consolation for those infamous diaries that he had burned, the contents of which will forever remain a mystery. Actually he mentions the diaries and his intention to eventually have them burned quite early on in these letters; and he forbids Monica from staying at his flat in Hull, when he was ill in hospital, out of fear that she may read them.There are many such intriguing details in these letters that will delight Larkin fans, as here we get the real man, off guard and speaking his true mind, in a way that he would only do to the love of his life. The story of the relationship runs alongside that of Larkin's rise to fame, and of the latter he is typically self-deprecating about his substantial achievements. Of the former, it is all a touch poignant and sad. After Larkin's retreat to Belfast, he gets the top job in Hull, and here is the ideal point for him and Monica to get together, to marry. He has plenty of money and could easily support the both of them, but he wriggles on the hook for too long and the moment is lost. Later when details of his dalliances with other women--notably Maeve--emerge, he is effusively apologetic to the distraught Monica, but he cannot help but go on living his double life with minimum ties, in order to maintain the right existential conditions for his writing.
We know this story from the Motion biography, but through these letters it comes over more profoundly, from the man himself. Comparing the two books yields some striking insights, such as the intimate writing to Monica on his 50th birthday, followed by drinking champagne with Maeve in his flat afterwards. Larkin urged Monica to burn his letters, but happily this remarkable archive survived to cast another unique light on his sadness and genius.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
not as interesting as indicated, May 15 2012
By Henry Wells - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Letters To Monica (Paperback)
I expected this to be a real page turner but I found it to be rather slow and plodding. I suppose if you were already familiar with the author of the letters it might be more interesting.
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