Blythe Spirit
The Remarkable Life of Ronald Blythe: WINNER OF THE NEW ANGLE PRIZE 2025
$45.69
- Paperback
416 pages
- Release Date
17 February 2026
Summary
‘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…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781399819091 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1399819097 |
| Author: | Ian Collins |
| Publisher: | John Murray Press |
| Imprint: | John Murray Publishers Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 416 |
| Release Date: | 17 February 2026 |
| Weight: | 340g |
| Dimensions: | 196mm x 126mm x 30mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
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 *
Blythe was indeed remarkable, and this affectionate but clear-sighted biography celebrates a life well-lived – Peter Parker * TLS *
Ian Collins’ tender, funny, perceptive biography brings his friend Ronnie Blythe vividly to life, contradictions, sex life and all – Patrick Gale
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 *
Rich and enjoyable – Literary Review
Unputdownable … Every chapter here is a stand-alone wardrobe of fascinating stuff – Martin Newell * Eastern Daily Press *
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
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 *
An engaging and sympathetic portrait – D. J. Taylor * The Tablet *
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 *
About The Author
Ian Collins
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 Mesher Istanbul. He lives in Suffolk and Greece.
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