The Road of Dreams
Encyclopedia
The Road of Dreams is a book of poetry
by crime writer Agatha Christie
. It was published at her own expense by Geoffrey Bles in January 1925
priced at five shillings (5/-). Only one edition of the 112-page volume was ever published and this was undated.
Christie wrote poetry for most of her life and the first traceable published works by her are three poems in 1919
- World Hymn in The Poetry Review issue for March/April, Dark Sheila in Poetry Today issue for May/June and A Passing in the same journal for November/December. All three poems are reprinted in The Road of Dreams (with the first of these three under the slightly amended title of World Hymn, 1914).
The book is divided into four sections:
The final section includes a poem entitled In a Dispensary which mentions many of the poisons that Christie would use in her long fictional career.
The Scotsman
of March 23, 1925 said, "Miss Agatha Christie, in her book of poems, The Road of Dreams, reveals a pleasing lyrical sense. The movement of her verse is light and graceful, and its substance, though not of the 'thought compact,' is not empty. Such lines, however – and there are a few-as:-
are banal. Flow in verse is not everything. A stronger note is struck in some of the ballads, for instance, The Ballad of the Flint. Here Miss Christie has a story to tell, and along 'the road of reality' she swings quite vigorously. In the first collection of songs grouped together as A Masque from Italy – the players are the old and over-new Harlequin and company – Miss Christie is perhaps happiest. The poem is quite a charming bubble.
The contents of this book were reprinted in the 1973 collection Poems
as "Volume 1" although there are several differences between the two editions (See Poems for details).
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
by crime writer Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
. It was published at her own expense by Geoffrey Bles in January 1925
1925 in literature
The year 1925 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* April: F Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway meet in the Dingo Bar on rue Delambre, in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France shortly after the publication of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and shortly before...
priced at five shillings (5/-). Only one edition of the 112-page volume was ever published and this was undated.
Christie wrote poetry for most of her life and the first traceable published works by her are three poems in 1919
1919 in literature
The year 1919 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain return to Somerville College, Oxford, to complete their education following war service.*Two paintings by E. E...
- World Hymn in The Poetry Review issue for March/April, Dark Sheila in Poetry Today issue for May/June and A Passing in the same journal for November/December. All three poems are reprinted in The Road of Dreams (with the first of these three under the slightly amended title of World Hymn, 1914).
The book is divided into four sections:
- A Masque from Italy
- Ballads
- Dreams and Fantasies
- Other Poems
The final section includes a poem entitled In a Dispensary which mentions many of the poisons that Christie would use in her long fictional career.
Literary response
The Times Literary Supplement in its issue of February 26, 1925 praised A Masque from Italy and other selected poems whilst stating that "her talent, however, is too delicate to turn a ballad convincingly" and World Hymn, 1914 was a "subject too large for her hand to grasp". It did conclude however by stating that in poems such as Beatrice Passes (from Dreams and Fantasies) her "real poetic gift is best displayed".The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
of March 23, 1925 said, "Miss Agatha Christie, in her book of poems, The Road of Dreams, reveals a pleasing lyrical sense. The movement of her verse is light and graceful, and its substance, though not of the 'thought compact,' is not empty. Such lines, however – and there are a few-as:-
- "The South Wind comes a-whispering, a-whispering from the sea,"
are banal. Flow in verse is not everything. A stronger note is struck in some of the ballads, for instance, The Ballad of the Flint. Here Miss Christie has a story to tell, and along 'the road of reality' she swings quite vigorously. In the first collection of songs grouped together as A Masque from Italy – the players are the old and over-new Harlequin and company – Miss Christie is perhaps happiest. The poem is quite a charming bubble.
Forgotten creations
Christie does not mention the book in her autobiography. Her official biography recounts that Eden Philpotts, a family friend, wrote to her and told her she "had great lyric gifts". He also warned her that it would not sell well and was proven right when copies remained unbound and unsold well into the 1960's.The contents of this book were reprinted in the 1973 collection Poems
Poems (Agatha Christie)
Poems is the second of two collections of poetry by crime writer Agatha Christie, the first being The Road of Dreams in January 1925. It was published in October 1973 at the same time as the novel Postern of Fate, the final work she ever wrote....
as "Volume 1" although there are several differences between the two editions (See Poems for details).
External links
- The Road of Dreams at the official Agatha Christie website