{"product_id":"the-island-nicholas-jenkins-9780674303522","title":"The Island: War and Belonging in Auden's England","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA groundbreaking reassessment of W. H. Auden's early life and poetry, shedding new light on his artistic development as well as on his shifting beliefs about political belonging in interwar England.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eW. H. Auden's early works, from his first poems in 1922 to the publication of his landmark collection \u003ci\u003eOn This Island\u003c\/i\u003e in the mid-1930s, are prized for their psychological depth. Yet Nicholas Jenkins argues that they are political poems as well, illuminating Auden's intuitions about a key aspect of modern experience: national identity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Island\u003c\/i\u003e presents a new picture of Auden as he explored a genteel, lyrical nationalism in response to World War I. Amid artists' and intellectuals' \"rediscovery\" of England's rural landscapes, Auden's poems reflect on a world in ruins while cultivating visions of a beautiful--if morally compromised--English isle. They also speak to aspects of Auden's personal search for belonging, including his negotiation of the codes that structured gay life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs Europe veered toward a second immolation, Auden began to realize that poetic myths centered on English identity held little potential. Reexamining one of the twentieth century's most moving and controversial poets, \u003ci\u003eThe Island\u003c\/i\u003e is a fresh account of Auden's early works and a striking parable about the politics of modernism.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Nicholas Jenkins\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674303520\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674303522\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Belknap Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/14\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 768\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.34lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.13w x 1.56d","brand":"Nicholas Jenkins","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48137143517439,"sku":"9780674303522","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_362146e9-8746-4829-8eb9-e7180ced9f1e.jpg?v=1770166836","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-island-nicholas-jenkins-9780674303522","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}