Sitwell's Fanfare for Elizabeth is a striking account of love, betrayal, and religion as it unfolds in the court of King Henry VIII. Sitwell navigates elegantly through the capricious nature both of Henry's court, and his love life. The youthful hardships of little Elizabeth are played out against the backdrop of the great drama of Henry's struggles with the Pope, and his six wives.Charming in style, Fanfare for Elizabeth ends on a vignette of Elizabeth in her ear...

For the better part of forty years, Edith Sitwell's poetry has been neglected by critics. But born into a family of privileged eccentrics, Edith Sitwell was highly regarded by her contemporaries: the great writers and artists of the day who attended her unlikely London literary salon. Her quips and anecdotes were legendary and her works like English Eccentrics confirmed her comic genius, while later she established herself as the quintessential poet of the Blitz.This masterly biogr...

Dame Edith Sitwell died while this autobiography was in the course of printing. One of the last acts of her life was to approve the 'specimen page' from the printer. She did not live to correct her proofs and what, if any, changes she might have made is a matter for conjecture. The book, as she wrote it, must now stand as the last prose work to come from a great writer of the last century and a wise, witty and compassionate woman. 'I trust', she wrote, 'that I have hurt nobody.'Dam...

Un divertido catálogo de los personajes más disparatados que ha dado la historia de Inglaterra.Poeta, ensayista, novelista, excéntrica, icono cultural de los años veinte, Edith Sitwell fue también una de las escritoras más originales y fascinantes del siglo XX.En Excéntricos ingleses, uno de sus libros más reconocidos, Sitwell recoge a viajeros, eruditos, científicos, hombres de letras, ermitaños, místicos y otros personajes disparatados de la nobl...

In "The Queens and the Hive," Edith Sitwell crafts a vivid tapestry that intertwines the themes of power and artifice within the context of a decaying society. The work is notable for its impressionistic style, rich imagery, and musicality, reflecting Sitwell's fascination with the intricate worlds of insect life as a metaphor for human existence. Through the lens of poetic narrative, Sitwell juxtaposes the regal queens with their buzzing subjects, delving into the complexities of identity...

In this moving chronicle a modern poet magnificently recaptures the splendid colour and sordid intrigue of the most spectacular period of history in Britain.No hive can tolerate two Queens. In the fatal clash between the Protestant Queen of England and the Catholic Queen of Scots, many were determined that 'The death of Mary is the life of Elizabeth'.In this moving chronicle a modern poet magnificently recaptures the splendid colour and sordid intrigue of the most spectacul...

The constant themes of the great poet, Birth, Death, Pity and Indignation, the unity of life, the re-birth that is brought by Spring, and the necessity for choice that informs all sentient life, are the core of this collection of poems by Dr. Edith Sitwell.The poet's awareness of the atomic age into which mankind has emerged renders more poignant and moving her assurance of the spiritual pattern behind the material facades. She knows that: "... we live now in the age of the terribl...

First published in London in 1962, this collection of Sitwell's later poetry contains "several pieces which show that the lyrical impulse of her early days was still alive to make new discoveries of great freshness and tenderness" - Dictionary of National Biography"Her mastery of the long line, the pause, of contrasting fullness and ghostliness of sound is as striking as ever. So is her high simplicity of spirit." -The Times Literary Supplement

First published in 1932, this is the story of eighteenth century Bath, where Beau Nash ruled as uncrowned king for so many years, the fashionable members of English society found a splendid justification for improving their health and enjoying themselves at the same time. They took the waters assiduously, gambled excessively, and danced away the evenings at cotillion balls.This book, written with all the skill and visionary commitment of an established poet, recreates the atmospher...

First published in 1943, this is a selection of writings from Dr. Sitwell's private notebooks. It includes essays on prosody, the role of the poet, the nature of poetry, and includes her full length work 'A Notebook on William Shakespeare', as well as discussion of Chaucer, Herrick, Wordsworth, Pope and Byron amongst others.The section on Shakespeare consists of essays on the general aspect of the plays - those great hymns to the principle and the glory of life. There are long essa...

First published in 1948, this book may be described as Dame Edith Sitwell's personal notebook. It consists of essays on the subject of the general aspect of the plays-those great hymns to the principle and the glory of life, in which there are the same differences in nature, in matter, in light, in darkness, in movement, that we find in the universe, and in which the characters are so vast they seem each an element (Water, Hamlet; Air, Romeo and Juliet; Fire, King Lear) and which yet bear ...

In "English Eccentrics," Edith Sitwell weaves a rich tapestry of biographical sketches that delve into the quirks and idiosyncrasies of notable figures from English history. Written in a style that effortlessly blends wit with scholarly insight, Sitwell's prose is both lyrical and engaging, capturing not just the lives but the peculiarities that made these individuals stand out. The book is historically contextualized within the early 20th century, a period marked by both social upheaval a...