John cowper powys autobiography example

1934 book by John Cowper Powys

John Cowper Powys's (1872–1963) Autobiography, published in 1934,^[2] the year Powys returned to Britain from America, describes his first 60 years, and is considered one of his most important works.

Overview

Writer J. B. Priestley comments: "Even if Powys had never written any novels – and at least one of them, A Glastonbury Romance is a masterpiece – this one book alone would have proved him to be a writer of genius."^[3] While he sets out to be frank about himself, and especially his sexual peculiarities and perversions, he largely excludes any substantial discussion of the women in his life.^[4] It has become clear that the reason for this is because it was written while he was still married to Margaret Lyon though he was living in a permanent relationship with the American Phyllis Playter.^[5] Morine Krissdotir, in The Life of Powys, describes the first chapter