This book examines T.S. Eliot's search for a new life during the break up of his first marriage, a period marked externally by his entry into the Anglican Church and the exchange of American for British nationality. This work covers the last 38 years of his life, and explores the ties between Eliot's life and work, including his religious life and his relationship with his first love, Emily Hale. Drawing on unpublished papers, the author reveals the central role that Emily Hale played, inspiring some of his great religious poetry. His relationship with Hale, as well as with Mary Trevelyan, who wanted to marry him and who left a memoir of Eliot's years of fame, shed new light on this period of his life. Eliot's inner preoccupations are set in the context of his American past, showing that his native ties, both personal and literary, became more, rather than less important after he relinquished his nationality. These are the years of maturity during which he wrote "Four Quartets", "Murder in the Cathedral", "The Family Reunion" and "The Cocktail Party". Lyndall Gordon is also the author of "Eliot's Early Years" (1977) and "Virginia Woolf: A Writer's Life" (1984).
- ISBN10 0374522057
- ISBN13 9780374522056
- Publish Date 1 October 1989 (first published 1 September 1988)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 30 June 2021
- Imprint Noonday Press
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Language English