Essays in Books

Adcock, A. St. John.  "Walter de la Mare." In his Gods of Modern Grub Street:  Impressions of Contemporary Authors.  New York:  Fredcerick A. Stokes, 1923.

Praises de la Mare for being a unique author.  Singles out Memoirs of a Midget as a great novel and "The Listeners" as a superb poem.

Bagnall, Norma.  "The Poetry of Walter de la Mare: Sweet-Tongued Words." Touchstones: Reflectionson the Best in Children's Literature: Fairy Tales, Fables, Myths, Legends, and Poetry. 3 vols. Ed. Percy Nodelman. West Lafayette:  Children's Literature Association, 1987. II: 85-94.

A good general appreciation of de la Mare's poetry for children.  Says that this poetry can appeal to both adults and children.  There are poems about death, dance, nonsense, and even silence and are some of the richest in the English language.

Bayley, John.  "The Child in Walter de la Mare." In Children and Their Books: A Celebration of the Work of Iona and Peter Opie.  Ed. Gillian Avery and Julia Briggs.  Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.

Studies the influence of Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw" on de la Mare.  In both authors the world of the child is quite different but virtually normal to children.  Delves into de la Mare's tale "A Recluse" in this connection.  "The point about these disquieting and enchanting stories of de la Mare is that they mingle, with great ease and a kind of eerie and dreamy naturalness, the world of childhood and adulthood, with an imaginative dimension in which both partake, but to which both are always having to say goodbye."

Brenner, Rica.  "Walter de la Mare."  In his Ten Modern Poets.  Freeport, NY:  Books for Libraries Press, 1968.

A seminal essay originally published in 1930 upon which later critics would draw. Remarks on the fascination with the imagination of the child in his poetry and also remarks that his prose fiction comes from the same poetic impulse.

Cecil, David.  "The Prose Tales of  Walter de la Mare."  In his The Fine Art of Reading, and Other Literary Studies.  Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1957.

Rather impressionistic commentary on de la Mare's prose fiction.  Notes that his fiction is very much like his poetry and deals with ideas about life and death and the imagination.  Cecil emphasizes the spiritual as a reality for de la Mare.

Chesterton, G.K.  "Walter de la Mare."  In his The Common Man.  London:  Sheed and Ward, 1950.

Compares de la Mare's fantasies to those of J.M. Barrie and Edward Lear, and concludes that de la Mare is a symbolist, but with a profound sense of evil--especially in the diabolism of his famous ghost story, "Seaton's Aunt."

Church, Richard.  "Walter de la Mare."  In his Eight for Immortality.  Freeport, NY:  Books for Libraries Press, 1969.

Originally published in 1941, takes, like most criticism of the era an impressionistic, poetic stance.  Remarks, de la Mare utilizes a kind of  "cryptic writing, a code message condensing the realities of a more remote, and infinitely most vast and august, as well as more terrible universe which lies behind the quicksilver of the mirror, within the candle-flame, under the rhythm of the blood, and beyond the fence of logic."

Clark, Leonard.  "Walter de la Mare."  Three Bodley Head Monographs.  London:  The Bodley Head, 1960.

A short study of de la Mare's life and works that discusses only his work for children.  The volumes of ghostly tales are ignored.  Generally good praise and overall generalizations that are of value.

Collins, Joseph.  "Psychology of the Midget."  In his Taking the Literary Pulse: Psychological Studies of Life and Letters. New York: Doran, 1924.

A comparison and contrast of de la Mare's novel Memoirs of a Midget and Le Grand d'Espagne by Francois de la Gueriniere.  Argues that both works do not fully present the true picture of the psychology of the midget.

Crawford, Gary William.  "On the Edge:  The Ghost Stories of Walter de la Mare."  Discovering Classic Horror Fiction.  Ed. Darrell Schweitzer. Mercer Island, WA:  Starmont House, 1992.

Discusses de la Mare's primacy of the imagination.  Also discusses the few stories that can be classified as ghost stories, and notes the theme of loss of identity that runs through them.

Davison, Edward.  "Walter de la Mare." In his Some Modern Poets, and Other Critical Essays. Freeprt, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1968.

A brief survey of de la Mare's prose and poetry and notes that de la Mare is always interested in another world, where reality and fantasy are presented simultaneously.

Dirda, Michael.  "Walter de la Mare."  Classics for Pleasure.  New York: Harcourt, 2007.

A brief essay on de la Mare's Memoirs of a Midget.

Gosse, Sir E. W. "Fairy in the Garden."  In his Books on the Table.  New York: Scribner, 1921.

Gregory, Horace.  "'The Nocturnal Traveller'" Walter de la Mare." In his Spirit of Time and Place. New York: W.W. Norton, 1973.

A revised essay on de la Mare than is a very insightful commentary on the children's stories, the ghost stories, such as "Seaton's Aunt" and "Miss Duveen," and thed children's verse.  Remarks, "de la Mare is a poet's poet as well as one whose lyrics and narratives have caught and held the attention of the popular ear--his example reasserts the presence of magic in poetry which is commonly sought for and rarely found."

Hardy, Thomas John.  "Faerie Way of Writing."  In his Books on the Shelf.   London:  P. Allan, 1934.

Hind, Charles Lewis. "Walter de la Mare."  In his More Authors and I.  London: Lane, 1921.

Kernahan, Coulson.  "Walter de la Mare."  In his Five More Famous Living Poets.  London: Butterworth, 1928.

Lacon, pseud.  "Walter de la Mare."  In his Lectures to Living Authors.  New York: Houghton, 1925.

Lucas, F.L. "Walter de la Mare." In his Authors Dead and Living.  New York: Macmillan, 1926.

Maynard, T. "Walter de la Mare." In his Our Best Poets.  New York: Holt, 1922.

Megroz, R.L. "Walter de la Mare." In his Five Novelist Poets of Today.   London:  Joiner and Steele, 1933.

Morley, Christopher Darlington.  "Peacock Pie."  In his Shandygaff. New York: Doubleday, Doran, 1918.

Murry, John Middleton.  "The Poetry of de la Mare." In his Countries of the Mind.  Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1968.

Like most early criticism of de la Mare, rather poetic itself in its appreciation of de la Mare's works, and notes the death-haunted de la Mare:  "Life haunted by death, beauty by decay.  What remedy will avail against this malady of mankind?  Nothing but the courage of a dream."  Emphasizes this theme in the de la Mare.

Murry, John Middleton.  "The Poetry of Walter de la Mare."  In his John Clare and Other Studies.  London: P. Nevill, 1950.

Phelps, William Lyon.  "Walter de la Mare." In his Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century.  New York: Dodd, 1918.

Shanks, E.B.  "The Poetry of Mr. Walter de la Mare."  In his First Essays on Literature.  Freeport, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1968.

Sherman, Stuart Pratt.  "Walter de la Mare." In his Main Stream.  New York: Scribner, 1927.

Squire, John Collings.  "Mr. de la Mare's Romance."  In his Books Reviewed.  London:  Heinemann, 1922.

Sturgeon, Mary C.  "Walter de la Mare."  In her Studies of Contemporary Poets.  New York: Dodd, Mead, 1919.

Swinnerton, Frank.  "The Rogue Poets."  In his Figures in the Foreground.  London, 1963.

Thomas, Dylan.  "Walter de la Mare as a Prose Writer."  Quite Early One Morning. New York:  New Directions, 1954.

A brief appreciation of de la Mare's ghost stories.  He remarks, "His real fairies are as endearing as Dracula.  And his subject, always, is the imminence of spiritual danger."

Wagenknecht, Edward.  "Walter de la Mare."  In his Seven Masters of Supernatural Fiction.  New York:  Greenwood Press, 1991.

A superb essay that culminates Wagenknecht's long interest in and friendship with de la Mare.  Discussed the major works of the supernatural and notes that de la Mare exalted the imagination as the main part of man's emotional and psychological make up.  This essay should be read by all scholars of de la Mare.

Williams, Charles.  "Walter de la Mare." In his Poetry at Present.   Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, 1931.

Says that only a few of de la Mare's poems will be remembered.  "The poems may be about sorrow or death or love or any other emotional subject;  the fact emerges, as it were, secondarily, from a richness which seems too beautiful to contain a mere intellectual significance."