Books by Sir John Betjeman

A charming new collection of previously undiscovered poems by Sir John Betjeman. John Betjeman (1906-1984), the former poet laureate, remains one of Britain''s foremost and much-loved writers whose poetry has passed into the collective memory as an affectionate and witty monument to twentieth century British life. In this new edition of collected unpublished verse, Gardner promises more treasures for Betjeman enthusiasts the world over. Harvest Bells contains poems never before published as well as uncollected poems previously printed only in newspapers, magazines, broadsides and obscure books. Betjeman wrote many of these poems in the late 1920s and early 1930s, when he was still developing his unique poetic voice. They reveal a young poet experimenting with both Modernism and post-Romanticism. Some of these are profoundly psychological and personal, and they are deeply affecting to read today. Here can be seen the clear and surprising influence of, among other poets, Percy Shelley and Robert Browning. In these poems we can also witness the development of Betjeman''s characteristic interests and themes: suburbia, desire, faith, and death. Some have the delicate and eccentric touch of much of his early poetry and shed new light on his growth as a young poet, while many others reflect the sustained maturity of his later verse. Most are typically amusing and highly witty in the manner of a large amount of Betjeman''s work; some are darker in tone. These charming new discoveries, found as far apart as Waco, Texas and Christ Church College, Oxford will delight lifelong readers as well as introducing a whole new generation to Betjeman''s unforgettable work.

'Oh prams on concrete balconies, what will your children see? Oh white and antiseptic life in school and home and clinic, oh soul-destroying job with handy pension, oh loveless life of safe monotony, why were you created?'First and Last Loves is a collection of Betjeman's essays on architecture, first published to coincide with an exhibition at the Soane Museum, and a worthwhile volume in its own right. Introduced with a lively tirade against mediocrity entitled 'Love is Dead', Betjeman discusses a range of topics including conservation battles, modern architecture and his passion for railways.

'My own interest started in seeking out what was old. When the guide told me that this was the bed in which Queen Elizabeth slept, I believed him. When owners of country cottages in Suffolk told me their cottage was a thousand years old, I believed them too. I thought that this or that church was the smallest in England, and that secret passages ran under ruined monasteries, so that monks could get to the nearest convent without being seen. The older anything was the lovelier I thought it.'Most famous for his poetry, John Betjeman was also passionate about architecture, 'preferring all centuries to my own'. In his first prose work, Ghastly Good Taste (1933), he vigorously defends his love of Victorian and Edwardian architecture, considered deeply unfashionable at the time. With the savage humour of his famous satire 'Slough', he attacks notions of Modernism and (at the other extreme) unthinking antiquarianism.

In this series, a contemporary poet selects and introduces a poet of the past.