Overview

William Henry Davies was born in a pub and learnt early in life to rely on his wits and his fists - and to drink. Around the turn of the century, when he was twenty-two, his restless spirit of adventure led him to set off for America, and he worked around the country taking casual jobs where he could, thieving and begging where he couldn't. His experiences were richly coloured by the bullies, tricksters, and fellow-adventurers he encountered - New Haven Baldy, Wee Shorty, The Indian Kid, and English Harry, to name but a few. He was thrown into prison in Michigan, beaten up in New Orleans, witnessed a lynching in Tennessee, and got drunk pretty well everywhere. A harrowing accident forced him to return to England and the seedy world of doss-houses and down-and-outs like Boozy Bob and Irish Tim. When George Bernard Shaw first read the Autobiography in manuscript, he was stunned by the raw power of its unvarnished narrative. It was his enthusiasm, expressed in the Preface, that ensured the initial success of a book now regarded as a classic.

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9781908946072

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"""I have read it through from beginning to end and would have read more had there been any more to read."" George Bernard Shaw ""He found the people generous and the climate pleasant; he considers the United States an ideal place for tramps."" The New York Times"

I have read it through from beginning to end and would have read more had there been any more to read. George Bernard Shaw He found the people generous and the climate pleasant; he considers the United States an ideal place for tramps. The New York Times

Author Information

W. H. Davies (1871-1940) was a Welsh poet and writer who spent a significant part of his life as a vagabond in the United Kingdom and United States. He began publishing his own poetry in 1905 and became a popular poet in his time, mixing with leading figures of society.

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