Product Description

When Wilfred Owen died in 1918 aged 25, only five of his poems had been published. Yet he became one of the most popular poets of the 20th century. For decades his public image was controlled by family and friends, especially his brother Harold who was terrified anyone might think Wilfred was gay. In recent years much new material has become available. This book, based on over thirty years of wide-ranging reaearch, brings new information to almost every part of Owen's life. Owen emerges as a complex, fascinating and often endearing character with an intense delight in being alive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38173 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Review
There's been some wonderful coverage for this excellent biography of one of the 20th century's most popular poets with lots more to come. There was a half page news story in the SUNDAY TIMES on 8 September and Dominic wrote a piece for the GUARDIAN, which ran on 14 September. To tie-in with Remberance Day,Dominic was interviewed on SUNDAY (ITV) on 10 November and the biography gota big mention in Frank Barretts's article in THE MAIL ON SUNDAY (10 Nov) on visiting the war graves in France We've had some fantastic reviews (it was featured in the DAILY TELEGRAPH'S 'Books of the Moment' on 19 October): 'To write a book that satisfies both enthusiasts for Owen's poetry and military historians is exceptionally difficult, but Dominic Hibberd has succeeded brilliantly. He has written a biography truly worthy of our national war poet.'Gary Sheffield, THE MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Although he (Hibberd) modestly says that his book 'is not, of course, definitive.' it is hard to see how it could be improved.'Neil Powell, THE TLS 'the first biography since 1974, is a stunning achievement by Dr Dominic Hibberd.'SOLDIER 'His book is exemplary in its thoroughness, imaginative sympathy and good sense'Andrew Motion, THE FINANCIAL TIMES 'This is a good, honest and often moving biography; it is also a monument to research.'Victoria Glendining, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'As with his fascinating biography of the poet and Poetry Bookshop founder, Harold Munro, Dominic Hibberdhas given us an exemplary work of biography, and a fine introduction to one of the more modest but still significant voices of literary modernity.'Richard Price, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY 'The strength of Dominic Hibberd's biography is the way in which the narrative encompasses the details of Owen's strange life without letting the reader forget that it is the development of a poet which is the most important part of the plot.'Roy Hattersley, THE OBSERVER 'DominicHibberd has probably done more more than any other individual to to illuminate Owen's life and work............His new Life is a triumph.... it is difficult to believe it will ever be superseded'Mark Bostridge, THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'This rich, compelling, formidably researched enterprise, which is thefruit of half a lifetime's devotion to Owen's memory.'John Carey, THE SUNDAYTIMES 'He (Wilfred Owen) deserved - but has so far lacked - a definitive biography. Now it is indisputably here.'Nigel Jones, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE 'Dominic Hibberd's biography, is particularly effective in communicating a sense ofits subject's shy charmThomas Hodgkinson, LITERARY REVIEW 'This is Dominic Hibberd's third book on Owen, offering a generous, affectionate but not uncritical portrait of a man burdened with an acute class consciousness'Colin Cardwell, THE HERALD 'This excellent biography.'Nicholas Seddon, THE TABLET 'The new biography is an extremely full and on the whole convincing picture of an elusive figure.'Anthony Thwaite, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'this humane, moving biography.'Ned Denny, THE DAILY MAIL Dominic has been interviewed on OPEN BOOK (BBC Radio 4) on 29 September as well as doing interviews on BBC RADIO SCOTLAND LYRIC FM (Ireland), BBC RADIO SHROPSHIRE, HEREFORD AND WORCESTER, LEICESTER, WALES and OXFORD Dominic gave an extremely good launch lecture at the Art Workers Guild on Thursday 19 September and still to come is an interview in the

Nigel Jones, New Statesman
‘[Owen] deserved - but had so far lacked - a definitive biography. Now it is undisputedly here’

Andrew Motion, Financial Times
‘Exemplary in its thoroughness, imaginative sympathy and good sense’

Customer Reviews

An astoundingly definitive, truly exemplary biography
For many years, the authoritative text on Owen’s life and deeds has been Jon Stallworthy’s 1974 biography, but Hibberd's not only compliments but surpasses its predecessor in every way; never before has Wilfred been so candidly, definitively and charmingly sculpted than in this ‘New Biography’.

For too long, Wilfred has been seen only as a ‘trench poet’, his work admired, but his life known in scant detail beyond his acquaintance with Siegfried Sassoon in Craiglockhart and his tragic death just one week before the armistice (anyone who protests that I've just 'spoiled the ending' will be emphatically ignored). As Stallworthy before him, Hibberd has endeavoured to present Wilfred not as a deified myth but as a person, and succeeds spectacularly - gone are Stallworthy’s tentative brushings at ‘adolescent infatuations’, replaced by frank, open discussion of the greatest poet of his century’s sexual orientation, his tendencies towards hypochondria and hero-worship, his self-doubt...all his idiosyncrasies and foibles.

With comprehensive details of his horrific life in the ‘seventh hell’ of the trenches as well as his life before becoming a soldier, as a teacher, a vicar’s assistant and a devoted son, every facet of Wilfred’s life that he has left in human memories or in the letters not censored by his brother, Harold, is touched upon. I applaud Hibberd’s accessible style, his objective unwillingness to pass moral judgement, his astounding level of research and his utter dedication. Even for we to whom Owen is a great passion will find much that is new here - yet I would recommend the book to anyone with an appreciation for poetry, braveness or simply the beautiful life of an ordinary man who happened to be the greatest poet of his age.

There is very little to fault. Occasional points could have been clarified with detail found in the letters, and it was occasionally frustrating to find a point of interest with no source, but I cannot help but feel entirely assured that Hibberd, the new authority, knows exactly what he's talking about...

A book of two halves
When I received this book last Christmas I was slightly shocked at how many pages there appeared to be. I admit that I knew very little about Wilfred Owen apart from the fact that he wrote poetry during World War 1 and he died very young(25 years of age). I immediately thought that there was no way that his life story could fill almost 500 pages but I was wrong. This is surely the definitive biography about him and a brilliant job is done by Dominic Hibberd.

Pretty much the first half of the book is about his pre-war years and the times that Owen spent at school, as a teacher, a vicar's assistant and the time he lived in France for a while. At times I did feel a little impatient as I really wanted to know what occured during his wartime experiences. I must admit though that Hibberd has done a staggering amount of research including trying hard to disect Owen's brother Harold's at times brutal censorship of the letters written by Wilfred. It was interesting to learn about Wilfred's weaknesses such as being a Mother's boy, a hypochondriac and the slow realisation that he was gay. As you read this book you do become aware that it all leads up to the horrors of war and the author takes you there slowly but very surely. When we finally arrive at 1917 and the true reality of what Owen and many thousands more went through it is chilling and makes for a rivetting read.

The true strength of this book is without a doubt the descriptions of the fighting, killing and pure fear of what so many men went through as they battled against the odds. At one time Owen's CO accused him of cowardice as he cracked under the strain of constant shelling and spending the night next to a colleague that had been blown to pieces. The fact that he was eventually awarded the Military Cross showed how ridiculous the accusation was but it was something that haunted him as he took several months to recover. This excellent book makes you wonder just how you would react in dreadful situations that so many brave men had to encounter. I won't go into all the detail about Wilfred's war experiences but suffice to say he did have a torrid time and it is because of this that he left us with his beautifully written poetry about war.

This is a superbly written book. Yes, I did wish there was more of Wilfred Owen's poetry and at times I did have a chuckle at the apparant pomposity of the circle of poets that shared a part of his life like Sassoon, Graves and Monro. The story of Owen's life is varied, interesting and ultimately very moving especially as he writes to his Mother about his hopes for the future. His future was to be cut tragically short but he left a legacy with his poetry that will last a lifetime and is still very relevant today.

Interesting and useful
I would definitely recommend this book, both for people wishing to learn more about the life of Wilfred Owen, the well-known World War One poet, and for people like myself who wanted to use the book for academic purposes. I did not think that a biography of a man who lived for such a short amount of time could be so detailed.