{"product_id":"9780349012117-the-hyacinth-girl","title":"The Hyacinth Girl","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eT. S. Eliot's Hidden Muse\u003cbr\u003eThe revealing of the hidden muse - Emily Hale - the Hyacinth Girl of the famous The Waste Land poem - who influenced the life and art of T. S. Eliot. Over 1000 letters of his to her have only now been unlocked. Lyndall Gordon brings us a new way to view the great poet to coincide with the centenary publication of The Waste Land.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe revealing of T. S. Eliot's hidden muse - Emily Hale, the Hyacinth Girl of the famous \u003ci\u003eThe Waste Land\u003c\/i\u003e poem\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Extraordinary. A rare work of sympathy and insight' \u003cb\u003eColm \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eTóibín\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Gordon sifts through the documents with her customary care and delicacy' \u003cb\u003eFrances Wilson, \u003ci\u003eTelegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Thanks to Gordon's meticulous research and inspired storytelling we will never read [Eliot's] poems the same way again' \u003cb\u003eHeather Clark\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Exquisitely nuanced' \u003cb\u003eKathryn Hughes, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An illuminating account' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'As exciting as a detective story. Gordon establishes the profound influence [the relationship] had upon the substance and in particular upon the imagery of Eliot's work' \u003cb\u003eMargaret Drabble, \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong the greatest of poets, T. S. Eliot protected his privacy while publicly associated with three women: two wives and a church-going companion. This presentation concealed a  life-long love for an American: Emily Hale, a drama teacher to whom he wrote (and later suppressed) over a thousand letters. Hale was the source of \"memory and desire\" in \u003ci\u003eThe Waste Land\u003c\/i\u003e; she is the Hyacinth Girl.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDrawing on the dramatic new material of the only recently unsealed 1,131 letters Eliot wrote to Hale, leading biographer Lyndall Gordon reveals a hidden Eliot. Emily Hale now becomes the first  and consistently important woman of life -- and his art.  Gordon also offers new insight into the other spirited women who shaped him: Vivienne, the flamboyant wife with whom he shared a private wasteland; Mary Trevelyan, his companion in prayer; and Valerie Fletcher, the young disciple to whom he proposed when his relationship with Emily foundered.  Eliot kept his women apart as each ignited his transformations as poet, expatriate, convert, and, finally, in his latter years, a man `made for love.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEmily Hale was at the centre of a love drama he conceived and the inspiration for the lines he wrote to last beyond their time.  To read Eliot's twice-weekly letters to Emily during the thirties and forties is to enter the heart  of the poet's art.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56451404398966,"sku":"9780349012117","price":26.08,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_29715206.jpg?v=1760462400","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780349012117-the-hyacinth-girl","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}