One of the finest children's writers of her generation turns her attention to the rambunctious life of notorious metaphysical poet John Donne, chronicling his misadventures, myriad occupations and jaw-dropping exploits with gusto, pace and thrilling immediacy.
Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2022
Winner of The British Book Awards 2023 Non-Fiction Narrative Book of the Year
Sometime religious outsider and social disaster, sometime celebrity preacher and establishment darling, John Donne was incapable of being just one thing. In his myriad lives he was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, a priest, an MP - and perhaps the greatest love poet in the history of the English language.
Along the way he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, was imprisoned for marrying a sixteen-year old girl without her father's consent; struggled to feed a family of ten children; and was often ill and in pain. He was a man who suffered from black surges of misery, yet expressed in his verse many breathtaking impressions of electric joy and love.
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 9780571345922
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 292 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 21 mm
Edition: Main
'Fascinating and incisive: spellbinding.' - John Carey'A wonderful, joyous piece of work . . . with fierce, interrogative intelli-gence. it is fantastic to have this most elusive and mysterious of men brought out into the light, for all to see. I just loved it.'- Maggie O'Farrell
John Donne lived many lives; poet, rake, lawyer, lover, jailbird, and celebrity preacher to name but a few. If, like me, you knew a bit about Donne and his beautiful sensual love poetry but not about the rest of the... More
I have been a devotee of John Donne’s poetry since my early twenties, and I love Katherine Rundell’s children’s books, so I was delighted to read this stunning biography.Donne was often poor, and ill, and in trouble... More
A comprehensive and easily accessible biography of Jone Donne. Katherine Rundell's passion for the poet is clear from her writing. I very much enjoyed it. Many thanks to the publishers for sending me a copy to...
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