Goronwy Rees: Sketches in Autobiography

Planet
"Balanced, perceptive and informative introductory material and clarifying textual notes."

Book Description
Goronwy Rees (1909-1979), a Marxist intellectual turned cold warrior, claimed "writing books is the only thing I'm serious about." He resigned from the University College of Wales in 1957. This volume offers distinctive essays that describe vivid experiences in the author's life. "A Bundle of Sensations" describes Rees' wartime experiences and his intelligence work as well as his chapel childhood and a summer spent in Germany during the days of the Weimar republic. "A Chapter of Accidents" explores his complex relationship with Guy Burgess, which led to his acrimonious departure from his position as principal of the University of Wales, Aberyswyth. The book is rich with introductory matter, background, and notes, and includes "A Winter in Berlin," an evocative look at Berlin under Nazi rule in 1934.

About the Author
John Harris is the author of Goronwy Rees in the Writers of Wales series. A former lecturer at the University of Wales, Aberyswyth, he has written extensively on Anglo-Welsh publishing history including A Bibliographical Guide to Twenty-Four Modern Anglo-Welsh Writers.


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"Goronwy Rees's A Bundle of Sensations (1960) was described as 'an attempt to recover from the past some of the most vivid chapters in the author's life' and in this distinctive autobiography Rees found his true literary voice. By choosing episodes from his life which held wider public significance, he attempted to capture the spirit of the times in which he lived." "A Bundle of Sensations describes Rees's wartime experience and his intelligence work as well as containing essays concerning his chapel childhood and a summer spent in Germany during the days of the Weimar Republic." "At the heart of A Chapter of Accidents (1972) lies his complex relationship with Guy Burgess, a disastrous entanglement culminating in his acrimonious departure from his position as Principal of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He also discusses his childhood in Wales and his time at Oxford, making the book, in his words, 'both a chapter of autobiography and a reflection of English (and also Welsh) life between 1930 and 1955'." This edition of Goronwy Rees: Sketches in Autobiography is augmented with extensive introductory matter, full background and explanatory notes, and also includes 'A Winter in Berlin', a brilliantly effective evocation of Berlin under Nazi rule in 1934.


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