Stephen Spender (1909–1995)

The Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists who shaped the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century, and the series editor was Frank Kermode who was Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London. Each volume aimed to be an introduction to the life and writings.

T.S. Eliot left instructions that his biography should not be written. (p. 22). Yet, in The function of criticism he had written that 'the critic should be a master of fact‘ and these facts include biographical information about the writer. Eliot's idea that his relationship to his readership should be through his work, and not through his biography has now become a mainstream idea about the appreciation of literary works. Descpite his caution about his private life, Eliot did let out some biographical information about himself, for example in his correspondence.

The author of this short biography and critical introduction to T.S. Eliot was Stephen Spender. Spender himself was a poet, and wrote a novel, travel and autobiographical works, as well as literary criticism. He was a contemporary of T.S Eliot and a friend, and in turn a contemporary of the friends they had in common, many of whom were also writers, poets and scholars active during the same period. Thus, Spender writes: "On one occasion I was having tea with Leonard and Virginia Woolf when Eliot was also a fellow-guest." (p. 129) Stephen Spender first met T.S. Eliot in 1928.

Despite these close personal relations, Eliot is foremostly a critical introduction to Eliot's works, based of wide reading of primary and secondary sources. One gets the feeling that the author secretly honoured Eliot's wish. Spender's analyses and interpretation of Eliot's works is precise and elegant, and obviously Spender's writing style is superior to any academic scholar, with very, very few exceptions.

Besides having Frank Kermode as the series editor, the acknowledgements also mention the contributions of Eliot's wife, Valerie Eliot, Professor John Bayley and Mrs Bayley (Iris Murdoch).… (more)