The Life and Mysterious Death of Poet and Intelligence Agent Stephen Haggard, 1911â"1943 : Last Train from Jerusalem - Ross Davies

The Life and Mysterious Death of Poet and Intelligence Agent Stephen Haggard, 1911â"1943

Last Train from Jerusalem

By: Ross Davies

Hardcover | 6 December 2024

At a Glance

Hardcover


$348.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $87.19 with

 or 

Aims to ship in 10 to 15 business days

When will this arrive by?
Enter delivery postcode to estimate

Actor, memoirist, novelist, playwright and poet, Stephen Haggard was a highly individual figure in the English literature and theatre of the 1930s and Second World War. Haggard was born in Guatemala City in 1911, the son of a British colonial officer - who was a nephew of H. Rider Haggard - and his French-Canadian wife. He died in mysterious circumstances in 1943 while serving with British Army Intelligence in the Middle East.

Ross Davies's biography retraces Stephen Haggard's brief yet vivid and crowded life and work. From a colonial childhood and education in England, the Haggard story moves on to prewar theatre studies in Munich, stardom on the London and New York stages and from there to service with the Army, the BBC, the Special Operations Executive and its rival Political Warfare Executive. Davies shows that Haggard felt verse to be his vital outlet, artistic and emotional, although he did not seek publication until the outbreak of Hitler's war. Wartime poems such "The Tear" and "Lotus" struck a chord with the many other young men and women who had to set aside civilian life, and Haggard's widow Morna collected the verse for publication with his memoir I'll Go to Bed at Noon (1944). In this book, Davies traces a fascinating life story that has been largely lost from view and makes a convincing case for Haggard's important contribution to the interwar literary and cultural scene.

Industry Reviews

'Ross Davies wears his learning lightly and allows the story of Stephen Haggard to breeze along without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail. Davies has privileged access to new materials that help to explain Haggard's death, but that does nothing to take away from what reads throughout like a Boys Own adventure story. It's an extraordinary account of an extraordinary life.' Tim Kendall, Professor of English Literature, University of Exeter


'Stephen Haggard is a name largely lost to the annals of time. This exceptionally researched book ignites interest in this early-twentieth-century polymath. It proves his importance as an interlocutor for British theatre with a number of vibrant continental European innovations. It is a hugely valuable intervention that means this "lost" figure finally receives the recognition he no doubt deserves.' Claire Warden, Professor of Performance, Loughborough University

More in Arts & Entertainment Biographies

Love Stories - Trent Dalton

Hardcover

RRP $34.99

$31.75

Uses for Obsession : A Chef's Memoir - Ben Shewry

RRP $34.99

$33.25

The Harder I Fight The More I Love You : A Memoir - Neko Case
Don't Look Back, You'll Trip Over : My Guide to Life - Michael Caine
Didion & Babitz : A Belletrist Book Club Pick - Lili Anolik
Ciao Bella! : Six Take Italy - Kate Langbroek

RRP $24.99

$23.75

I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy

RRP $34.99

$31.75

The Woman in Me - Britney Spears

RRP $49.99

$39.95

20%
OFF
Entrances and Exits - Michael Richards

RRP $34.99

$31.75

The Whole Truth - Jackie O

SIGNED COPY

RRP $49.99

$38.75

22%
OFF
What I Ate in One Year : (And related thoughts) - Stanley Tucci

RRP $45.00

$37.25

17%
OFF
My Animals, and Other Animals : A memoir of sorts - Bill Bailey
How to Make Gravy - Paul Kelly

RRP $24.99

$23.75

The Pasta Queen : A Just Gorgeous Cookbook - Nadia Caterina Munno
Behind the Seams : My Life in Rhinestones - Dolly Parton

RRP $85.00

$56.25

34%
OFF