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This is a study guide for A level and GCSE students which should also provide good background information for first year undergraduate students. The guide provides literary criticism of the text together with ideas and questions. Each guide is written to help the reader think independently about the text being studied. There is a biography of the author and literary and historical background details to the work are given. In addition there are summaries and glossaries of the text plus commentaries. Study hints are also given to help readers plan work and study effectively. Specimen essays are provided with suggestions for further reading. ... Read more

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John Betjeman was a great champion of British heritage and a devotee of the railways. This small, beautiful volume, edited and annotated by Jonathan Glancey, describes all that Betjeman found of value in the landscape and architecture of this country as he cut a nostalgic, personality-filled arc through a long-lost Britain.

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In this series, a contemporary poet selects and introduces a poet of the past. By their choice of poems, and by the personal and critical reactions, they express in their prefaces, the editors offer insights into their own work as well as providing an accessible and passionate introduction to the most important poets in our literature. Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984) was born in Highgate, the son of a manufacturer of Dutch descent. After university, he joined the staff of the "Architectural Review", thereafter working as a journalist and, during the Second World War, for various government departments. His first book of poems was "Mount Zion" (1931), followed by numerous collections, notably "A Few Late Chrysantheumns" (1954). His poetry enjoyed immense popularity, as did his personality, and his knighthood in 1969, and appointment as Poet Laureate in 1972 were almost universally welcomed. ... Read more

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Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984), Poet Laureate, was probably the most widely-read English poet of the twentieth century. Because of his frequent appearances on radio and television and his fervent devotion to the preservation of England's architectural heritage, his face and voice became familiar to millions. Few other poets of any century have had such a powerful influence on their contemporaries. This bibliography lists and describes all of his known writings, including his own books, ephemera, contributions to periodicals and to books by others, lectures, and radio and television programs. Other categories such as editorships, music settings, and dramatic adaptations of his poems, recordings, and interviews are also included, as well as a section devoted to writings about him. Manuscripts and drafts of all his works are described in detail. This enormous body of material is thoroughly indexed, cross-referenced, and in most cases annotated. Now at last the activities of this remarkable man--both a poet and a cultural phenomenon--can be seen in their full breadth and complexity. ... Read more

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John Betjeman was undoubtedly the most popular Poet Laureate since Tennyson. But beneath the thoroughly modern window on Britain that he opened during his lifetime lay the influence of his nineteenth-century forbears. This book explores his identity through such Victorianism via the verse of that period, but also its architecture, religious faith and - more importantly - religious doubt. It was, nevertheless, a process which took time.In the 1930s Betjeman's work was tinted with modernism and traditionalism. He found Victorian buildings 'funny' and wrote much in praise of the Bauhaus style, even though his early poetry was peppered with Victorian references. This leaning was incorporated into a greater sense of purpose during World War 2, when he transformed himself from precious humorist into propagandist. The resulting sense of cohesion grew when the dangers of post-war urban redevelopment heightened the need to critique the present via the poetics of the past, a mood which continued up to and beyond his gaining the Laureateship in 1972. This duty proved to be a millstone, so the 'official' poems are thus explored by the author more fully than hitherto.The conclusion of looks back to Betjeman's 1960 verse-autobiography, 'Summoned by Bells', which is seen as the apogee of his achievement and a snapshot of his identity.Included here is the first critical appreciation of the lyrics embodied within the text, which are taken as a map of the young poet's literary growth. Larkin's 1959 question 'What exactly is Betjeman?' then leads to a final appraisal of his originality, as evidenced by his glances towards postmodernism, feminism, and post-colonialism. The fact is that Betjeman never quite fits in anywhere. He is always a square peg in a round hole or a round peg in a square hole - often for the sheer enjoyment of so being. In a sense, his desire to be as non-conformist as a Quaker meeting house makes him a radical, rather than the reactionary that his interests imply. He was a champion of beauty and the British Isles, and clearly did much to make us see the worth of our Victorian forebears. Greg Morse's book highlights this important facet of his work. ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "John Betjeman," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have John Betjeman in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with John Betjeman when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name John Betjeman, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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John Betjeman, appointed Poet Laureate in 1972, is celebrated as the most remarkable, most widely read and best loved poet of the twentieth century. Bevis Hillier's 'awe-inspiring' and 'enthralling' biography fascinatingly recalls Betjeman's extraordinary character. In this final volume, Betjeman is at the height of his fame, universally adopted as Teddy Bear to the Nation. By now he is known not just as a poet, but as a television personality too. He is also the essential public face of conservation, fighting -- not always with great efficiency or success -- to save our heritage. We live with him the triumph of Summoned by Bells, his richly emotional autobiography in verse, but also follow his tribulations as Poet Laureate, despairingly in search of inspiration in the bombastic events of royal and public life.Perhaps least expected of all is the pleasure he found in Banana Blush, the poems he recorded to the music of Jim Parker. As before, Bevis Hillier reveals the origins of Betjeman's most loved poems; brings to life his loves, hates and enthusiasms; and shows the role that friendship and laughter played in his life. ... Read more