The Trembling of the Veil

Bedford Park's houses, gardens and artists provide the starting point for W. B. Yeats's recollections of his early literary life. Arriving from Dublin with his family, he finds a familiar London neighbourhood changed in his eyes since childhood. His memories of Blake and Rossetti lead into disagreements about painting, particularly the contrast between his devotion to poetic tradition and the newer tastes of his father's circle. These autobiographical pages show how strongly art shaped his beliefs and everyday surroundings.

Personal portraits carry the discussion beyond pictures and buildings. Yeats recalls Russell at art school, describing the ease of his painting, the development of his verse and his generosity towards people in difficulty. Friendship, religious thought and artistic ambition repeatedly meet in these accounts. For readers interested in a poet's formation, the book offers specific encounters and arguments through which Yeats explains the convictions of his youth.