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John Betjeman was born in 1906 and educated at Marlborough and Oxford. He was best-known and loved as a poet and received many of the major British literary prizes- the Royal Society of Literature Award under the Heinemann Bequest; the annual Foyle Poetry Prize (twice); and the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize. Betjeman was a founder of the British Victorian Society, he was a well-known broadcaster and journalist as well as a leading authority on architecture and topographical subjects. In 1960 he was given the CBE; in 1969 he was knighted by the Queen; and in 1972 he was appointed Poet Laureate. He died in 1984.
Betjeman's daughter was hesitant about making this selection of her father's prose - worried that he had not considered it to be of any lasting value. Thank goodness her convictions prevailed, for here is some of the most revealing and engaging work produced during the great man's long career. The selection includes a wide range of Betjeman's writings for periodicals of all shapes, sizes and denominations - film reviews, passionate declarations about new discoveries (buildings, books, people), short stories, film scripts for documentaries, bread-and-butter opinion columns and personal crusades. Divided thematically, Lycett Green briefly sets the scene of each period, contextualizing Betjeman's funny, vivid, fervent writings. (Kirkus UK)
