Tennis Whites and Teacakes
Author(s): John Betjeman
Betjeman's England is a place of patriotic poets and seaside coves, provincial cathedrals and eccentric dons. For fifty years, Betjeman celebrated the glories of Englishness and what it meant to be English. Against a tide of rapid change, he unearthed forgotten heroes, bygone haunts and old-fashioned modes of thought. But as this original collection reveals, his appeal goes far beyond simple nostalgia. It lies in his passionate convictions, his humour and his humanity. What does it mean to be English? What is Englishness? For fifty years, at a time when other people were becoming more internationally aware, John Betjeman immersed himself in the glories of English culture - its places, its writings, its heroes. Seaside architecture, national poets, the great cathedrals, our ancient townscapes - all were hard-won achievements, he pleaded, with pleasures and delights that we threw away at our peril. "Tennis Whites and Teacakes" brings together the best of Betjeman's poetry, private letters, journalism and musings to present a fully rounded picture of what he stood for.
General Information
- :
- : 104775
- : 104775
- : 0.67
- : 14 June 2007
- : United Kingdom
- : books
Other Specifications
- : John Betjeman
- : Hardback
- : 464
More About The Product
Praise for Trains and Buttered Toast" -- : 'A real treat ... A lovely, lovely anthology' -- Daily Mail, Val Hennessy, Critic's Choice 'Games! has produced a volume which no Betjemaniac will be without.' -- Evening Standard: A.N. Wilson 'What a joy' -- Sunday Herald Magazine 'Beautifully produced! Betjeman was evidently a comic writer of the highest class' -- Guardian 'Excellent' -- Spectator 'Informative and entertaining' -- Scotsman 'In Trains and Buttered Toast Betjeman's voice is gloriously new again' -- The Times 'Stephen Games has made a useful, entertaining selection of Betjeman's radio talks' -- Sunday Telegraph
John Betjeman was born in 1906 and educated at Magdalen College, Oxford. His gave his first radio talk in 1932; future appearances made him into a national celebrity. He was knighted in 1969 and became poet laureate in 1972. He died in 1984. Stephen Games writes about in architecture and language. He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, made documentaries for BBC Radio 3 and has workedfor the Independent, the Guardian,the Los Angeles Times, and wasdeputy editor of the RIBA Journal. In 2002, he edited the radio talks of Nikolaus Pevsner.
