Blythe Spirit - by Ian Collins (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

'Moving, candid, vivid, it is all that we could hope for in a memoir of this unique and treasured writer' ROWAN WILLIAMS

'An unusually intimate and affectionate portrait' PATRICK BARKHAM, GUARDIAN

'As a boy I dreamed of scholars and saints wandering around markets and cornfields, and of artists and poets sitting under the trees.'

Ronald Blythe (1922-2023), author of the inimitable Akenfield, was a prolific and poetic chronicler of rural and spiritual life, nature and literature. He spent a joyful century close to his Suffolk roots, time travelling in his imagination and publishing forty books and thousands of essays. His wide creative network included John and Christine Nash, Cedric Morris, Benjamin Britten, E. M. Forster, Patricia Highsmith and Richard Mabey.

From finding Thomas Hardy in February rain and John Clare in country tracks, to talking to his white cat and reading through a dragonfly's wings, the Blythe gift was to marvel in the everyday. His writing was intimate, meditative and often laced with a wry humour, inviting readers to share his enchanting perspective on the world. Yet few knew the 'real' Ronald Blythe. Leaving school at 14, he educated himself in libraries, churches and walks in the East Anglian landscape. He never spoke about early poverty and traumatic experience in the war, while his sexuality was kept private except from those closest to him.

Drawing on unparalleled access to letters, notebooks, published works, drafts, and conversations from decades of friendship, Ian Collins tells the full story of Ronald Blythe for the first time. The result is a sensitive, revelatory portrait which celebrates a fascinating, complex man and casts new light on one of our greatest writers.

Review Quotes

Ian Collins' tender, funny, perceptive biography brings his friend Ronnie Blythe vividly to life, contradictions, sex life and all--Patrick Gale

Remarkable . . . Perhaps the greatest praise for Collins - and maybe it was why Blythe chose him - is that he has written in the character of Blythe: interested, affectionate, but unsentimental. It would have made Ronnie extremely cheerful.--Church Times

An engaging and sympathetic portrait--D. J. Taylor, The Tablet

Blythe was indeed remarkable, and this affectionate but clear-sighted biography celebrates a life well-lived--Peter Parker, TLS

Painted with love, wit and a dash of mischief, the affectionate portrait in Blythe Spirit shuns reverence in favour of the sort of delight in everyday wonder - and eccentricity - that stamped the subject's own writing about place, people, art and literature--Boyd Tonkin, Prospect

As loving as it is candid . . . wonderful--Kathryn Hughes, The Times

Beautiful . . . an example of how to treat an unusual person as perfectly usual to himself . . . a remarkable life and a remarkable life-story--John Spurling

Rich and enjoyable--Literary Review

Teeming with colourful characters, telling episodes and fascinating insights into the way Ronnie set about his literary calling . . . [Blythe Spirit is] a vibrant song of praise--Eastern Daily Press

The biography conjures a lost world of letter-writing and weekend visits, with country life providing the time and space to form lasting bonds . . . deeply moving--Guy Spratt, Spectator

Unputdownable . . . Every chapter here is a stand-alone wardrobe of fascinating stuff--Martin Newell, Eastern Daily Press

About the Author

Ian Collins is a writer and curator. He has written numerous biographies and monographs, including the Runciman Award-winning John Craxton: A Life of Gifts and James Dodds: The Blue Boat which won the Creative Suffolk Author Award. He had a long career as an arts writer for the Eastern Daily Press and has worked with the Aldeburgh Festival, Sainsbury Centre in Norwich, British Museum, Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Benaki Museum in Athens and Meşher Istanbul. He lives in Suffolk and Greece.