‘The past is the only dead thing that smells sweet.’

Renowned for his profound connection with the English countryside, and his introspective exploration of nature, morality and the human condition, this beautifully curated collection showcases Edward Thomas’s poetry at its very best.

Steeped in a quiet beauty and touching melancholy, Thomas’s verse takes its readers through fields, along hedgerows and down lonely lanes, pausing to meditate on time, loss and the fragility of life. A writer turned solider in the First World War, Thomas only began writing poetry shortly after enlisting, evident from the emotional depth and philosophical weight of his writing. In poems like ‘Adlestrop’, he captures a fleeting moment of silence and stillness that seems to hold an eternity; in ‘Rain’, we hear the quiet despair of a soldier waiting alone in a hut as the world dissolves into water and war; within ‘The Owl’, a late-night meal becomes a haunting reflection on comfort in the face of suffering. Movingly illustrating both the beauty and impermanence of life, Edward Thomas: The Selected Poetry remains a classic of early twentieth century verse.

Philip Edward Thomas (1878 – 1917) was a British writer. Considered a war poet by some critics, Thomas was also known for his literary criticism, biography and travel writing. In 1915, he was enlisted in the British Army to fight in the First World War, having died in action during the Battle of Arras.