Dylan Thomas: A New Life

Description

Dylan Thomas was a romantic and controversial figure; a poet who lived to excess and died young. An inventive genius with a gift for both lyrical phrases and impish humour, he also wrote for films and radio, and was renowned for his stage performances. He became the first literary star in the age of popular culture - a favourite of both T.S. Eliot and John Lennon. As his status as a poet and entertainer increased, so did his alcoholic binges and his sexual promiscuity, threatening to destroy his marriage to his fiery Irish wife Caitlin. As this extraordinary biography reveals, he was a man of many contradictions. But out of his tempestuous life, he produced some of the most dramatic and enduring poetry in the English language.

Andrew Lycett read history at Oxford University, before becoming a journalist on the Sunday Times where he served as a foreign correspondent. He has been a full-time biographer since 1992, writing of Ian Fleming, Rudyard Kipling and now, Dylan Thomas.

'Andrew Lycett [brings] lots of fresh, carefully researched detail to the boozy and sex-obsessed private life.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (4.7.04) 'Untapped archives and tireless research have shed a fresh light on the short life of literary sensation Dylan Thomas...This biography...is a tragic yet compelling read.' DAILY EXPRESS (.9.7.04) '[an] enjoyable biography...often very funny.' SUNDAY TIMES (11.7.04) '[Lycett] succeeds in painting a surprisingly sympathetic picture of the man.' -- Simon Shaw MAIL ON SUNDAY (22.8.04)