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Muse of Fire: World War I as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets
The First World War comes to harrowing life through the intertwined lives of the soldier-poets in Michael Korda’s epic Muse of Fire . With Muse of Fire , Michael Korda, the best-selling author of Alone and Hero , takes a novel approach to World War I by telling its history through the lives of the soldier-poets whose verses memorialize the war’s unimaginable horrors. He begins with Rupert Brooke and the halcyon days before violence engulfed his generation―destroying the self-contented world of Edwardian England―and ends with the tragic death of Wilfred Owen, killed only days before the armistice brought an end to a war that took over 25,000,000 lives. In a sweeping narrative that echoes The Guns of August , Korda recounts these four years of a civilization destroying itself and portrays the lives and anguished deaths of the young men who unforgettably illuminated it. As the success of Pat Barker’s Regeneration , the remake of All Quiet on the Western Front and the images of brutal trench warfare in today’s Ukraine demonstrate, contemporary interest in “the war to end war” remains high. 100 illustrations
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 23, 2024
About the author
Michael Korda
62 books173 followersis an English-born writer and novelist who was editor-in-Chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 12, 2024
Muse of Fire: World War I as Seen Through the Lives of the Soldier Poets denotes the biographies and key writings of six English language centered soldier poets while journeying through a chronology of war. Michael Korda shows how the poets came to their craft, joined up and fought in the war and how their writings helped shape or reflect public opinion and a have become a key reference point in our understanding of the First World War.
Korda begins with the prewar, detailing and challenging the popular perception of the idyllic life in Britain through Rupert Brooke's life, with some references to the wider chain of events and tensions. This is largely the pattern for the rest of the book, each chapter details the life of one (or sometimes two) poets following the key events and battles of the war, with some flashbacks to delineate their early lives and development of their writing.
Korda begins with Brooke and then switches to Alan Seeger, the sole non-British Empire poet detailed here. Seeger joined the French Foreign Legion. Third is Isaac Rosenberg. After that we move in to more of a melange between Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon, and Wilfred Owen.
While we get a cradle to grave overview of the majority of writers, four of the six were killed in the war (spoiler?). This leaves much to mourn with their potential cut short, only Graves and Sassoon survived the war with the abilities to reflect on their trauma and legacies with age.
Korda does very well detailing their lives, showing the key moments or the development of the creative drive of the poets. He mixes the full history, with biography and literary criticism. His overall concern is with their work and the war, but not just on their own merits, this work shows their relationships between each other, just how close and at times collaborative and supportive these could be. Much as the poetry shows, the experiences at the sharp end of war were dangerous, messy, traumatic and full of the inconsistencies of military life.
As someone who is more widely read of this topic and holds a torch for Ivor Gurney, I was disappointed not to see him included, but for those newer to world war I studies there is a lot of helpful details and explanations that show how poetry was wide reaching and impactful on the wider society, and how these figures battled both military and artistically, and at times their own understanding of themselves and their gender identities.
Malcolm Hillgartner's narration is very well done, especially when he adjusts his cadence to better emphasize the poet's work.
Recommended to those exploring war writings, newer to world war I studies or the popular reception to poetry and it's effects on society.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
Korda begins with the prewar, detailing and challenging the popular perception of the idyllic life in Britain through Rupert Brooke's life, with some references to the wider chain of events and tensions. This is largely the pattern for the rest of the book, each chapter details the life of one (or sometimes two) poets following the key events and battles of the war, with some flashbacks to delineate their early lives and development of their writing.
Korda begins with Brooke and then switches to Alan Seeger, the sole non-British Empire poet detailed here. Seeger joined the French Foreign Legion. Third is Isaac Rosenberg. After that we move in to more of a melange between Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon, and Wilfred Owen.
While we get a cradle to grave overview of the majority of writers, four of the six were killed in the war (spoiler?). This leaves much to mourn with their potential cut short, only Graves and Sassoon survived the war with the abilities to reflect on their trauma and legacies with age.
Korda does very well detailing their lives, showing the key moments or the development of the creative drive of the poets. He mixes the full history, with biography and literary criticism. His overall concern is with their work and the war, but not just on their own merits, this work shows their relationships between each other, just how close and at times collaborative and supportive these could be. Much as the poetry shows, the experiences at the sharp end of war were dangerous, messy, traumatic and full of the inconsistencies of military life.
As someone who is more widely read of this topic and holds a torch for Ivor Gurney, I was disappointed not to see him included, but for those newer to world war I studies there is a lot of helpful details and explanations that show how poetry was wide reaching and impactful on the wider society, and how these figures battled both military and artistically, and at times their own understanding of themselves and their gender identities.
Malcolm Hillgartner's narration is very well done, especially when he adjusts his cadence to better emphasize the poet's work.
Recommended to those exploring war writings, newer to world war I studies or the popular reception to poetry and it's effects on society.
I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher.
May 2, 2024
Thank you to #Netgalley for giving me a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.
My Interest
The Edwardian Era is one of my favorites and World War I was the true end of it. I’ve read tons on the war and some on the poets. My favorite of the Anne of Green Gables books is Rilla of Ingleside in which Anne and Gilbert’s second son, Walter, becomes one of the war poets. Another favorite is Lord of the Nutcracker Men in which a sensitive, artistic father carves wooden nutcracker figures for his son and they come to look more and more scary as the war goes on–just like the poets’ poems do in real life.
The Poets, Their Stories, and My Thoughts
The Six War Poets:
[photos at the end of this post]
Rupert Brooke
Alan Seeger
Isaac Rosenberg
Robert Graves
Siegfried Sassoon
Wilfred Owen
The book opens with the most salacious details of Rupert Brook’s life. Did we need to read a dirty letter her wrote a girl? No. But it used the word c–t to describe her private parts so, naturally, in today’s world we had to be treated to it. This was when I nearly DNF-ed the whole book. All we learned about Rupert was that he wanted sex with a lot of girls related to Lawrence Olivier who were educated at Bedales (the school Princess Margaret’s children later attended) where boys and girls swam naked together (I’m pretty sure that ended before World War II). Other than that we learn that Rupert was a huge celebrity in his day.
Thankfully, the book got more interesting after pretty-boy Brooke. I’d never heard of Isaac Rosenberg, but he was fascinating. He managed to get the artistic education he wanted even though his class and religion got him put in vocational school. Nor had I heard of Alan Seeger, nephew of folk singer and song writer, Pete Seeger (“If I Had a Hammer” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” among others).
The others I knew more about (I knew other facts about Brooke). I’ve read and reviewed Sassoon’s Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man, and have Robert Graves’ I, Claudius but still haven’t read it. Like Rosenberg and Seeger (the Foreign Legion!!) their lives were more interesting than Brooke’s mostly incel life by far.
Brooke (Rugby), Graves (Charterhouse) and Sassoon (Marlborough–of Catherine, Pippa, and James Middleton fame) were typical privileged upper middle to upper class young men. Sent away to school at about age 8, then on to a great public (private) school before finally heading and Oxford or Cambridge, all expected to be able to do what they enjoyed, but all served in the war by their own choice. None of these young men except Brook was “sporty” or made in the style of a military man. Such young men were slaughtered on a scale never seen before or since. A Subaltern (2nd Lieutenant) had a life expectancy of 6 weeks at the front. That they somehow managed to continue to write poetry is amazing. Like the prose of Ernie Pyle in the next war, the poems of these men–most of which became known after the war–educated the world in the reality of their war.
Like too much of history publishing today, this book skimmed the surface. In part that was due to their age at the time of the war. In part because deeper, longer, books don’t sell any more. Yet the author made comments about their appearance or other silly things and often used hyperbole about this or that being “the most beautiful in England” or “best known verses in the English….” Ugh. Graves went on to have a tremendous career as a writer. I, Claudius even became a major tv production. Brooke is well known due to his association with Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group. Rosenberg and Seeger are nearly forgotten. While this book will give them a few new minutes of renewed fame, the salacious look at Brooke’s life will turn off not only me. This is a “history-lite” book only.
My Verdict
3.0
Muse of Fire… by Michael Korda
I listened to the audio version of this book.
My Interest
The Edwardian Era is one of my favorites and World War I was the true end of it. I’ve read tons on the war and some on the poets. My favorite of the Anne of Green Gables books is Rilla of Ingleside in which Anne and Gilbert’s second son, Walter, becomes one of the war poets. Another favorite is Lord of the Nutcracker Men in which a sensitive, artistic father carves wooden nutcracker figures for his son and they come to look more and more scary as the war goes on–just like the poets’ poems do in real life.
The Poets, Their Stories, and My Thoughts
The Six War Poets:
[photos at the end of this post]
Rupert Brooke
Alan Seeger
Isaac Rosenberg
Robert Graves
Siegfried Sassoon
Wilfred Owen
The book opens with the most salacious details of Rupert Brook’s life. Did we need to read a dirty letter her wrote a girl? No. But it used the word c–t to describe her private parts so, naturally, in today’s world we had to be treated to it. This was when I nearly DNF-ed the whole book. All we learned about Rupert was that he wanted sex with a lot of girls related to Lawrence Olivier who were educated at Bedales (the school Princess Margaret’s children later attended) where boys and girls swam naked together (I’m pretty sure that ended before World War II). Other than that we learn that Rupert was a huge celebrity in his day.
Thankfully, the book got more interesting after pretty-boy Brooke. I’d never heard of Isaac Rosenberg, but he was fascinating. He managed to get the artistic education he wanted even though his class and religion got him put in vocational school. Nor had I heard of Alan Seeger, nephew of folk singer and song writer, Pete Seeger (“If I Had a Hammer” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” among others).
The others I knew more about (I knew other facts about Brooke). I’ve read and reviewed Sassoon’s Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man, and have Robert Graves’ I, Claudius but still haven’t read it. Like Rosenberg and Seeger (the Foreign Legion!!) their lives were more interesting than Brooke’s mostly incel life by far.
Brooke (Rugby), Graves (Charterhouse) and Sassoon (Marlborough–of Catherine, Pippa, and James Middleton fame) were typical privileged upper middle to upper class young men. Sent away to school at about age 8, then on to a great public (private) school before finally heading and Oxford or Cambridge, all expected to be able to do what they enjoyed, but all served in the war by their own choice. None of these young men except Brook was “sporty” or made in the style of a military man. Such young men were slaughtered on a scale never seen before or since. A Subaltern (2nd Lieutenant) had a life expectancy of 6 weeks at the front. That they somehow managed to continue to write poetry is amazing. Like the prose of Ernie Pyle in the next war, the poems of these men–most of which became known after the war–educated the world in the reality of their war.
Like too much of history publishing today, this book skimmed the surface. In part that was due to their age at the time of the war. In part because deeper, longer, books don’t sell any more. Yet the author made comments about their appearance or other silly things and often used hyperbole about this or that being “the most beautiful in England” or “best known verses in the English….” Ugh. Graves went on to have a tremendous career as a writer. I, Claudius even became a major tv production. Brooke is well known due to his association with Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group. Rosenberg and Seeger are nearly forgotten. While this book will give them a few new minutes of renewed fame, the salacious look at Brooke’s life will turn off not only me. This is a “history-lite” book only.
My Verdict
3.0
Muse of Fire… by Michael Korda
I listened to the audio version of this book.
May 15, 2024
I could feel the horror of World War I through Korda's examination of 6 of the poets, famous for their war writings. My rating is only 3 stars through no fault of Korda. I could only stand to read about Isaac Rosenberg, Robert Graves, Siegfried Sassoon, and Wifred Owen, all of whom expressed the terror and lack of glory of war. The book starts, however, with a lengthy discussion of Rupert Brooke and the attitudes and positions of the English aristocracy. It made me queasy to hear of these English class distinctions, and I stopped reading many of these early chapters.
Both the landed gentry and the men from the middle and lower classes ended up dying in large numbers but in very different ways. The enlisted men died in muddy trenches and suffered from gas attacks. The rich, landed men, having been educated at posh public schools, assumed command positions on entering the armed forces. They were accompanied by a man-servant who took care of them and polished their buckles and shoes and often had others to make their bed. Representative of this group, Brooke glories in the idea of war and of dying a patriotic death. The posh group died in large numbers because often in a show of bravado, they led their men from the front with only a pistol and a club.
The numbers of deaths and casualities from World War I is horrific. If any good came out of it, it was the weakening and breaking up of the European aristocracy and the worst of the class distinctions.
Both the landed gentry and the men from the middle and lower classes ended up dying in large numbers but in very different ways. The enlisted men died in muddy trenches and suffered from gas attacks. The rich, landed men, having been educated at posh public schools, assumed command positions on entering the armed forces. They were accompanied by a man-servant who took care of them and polished their buckles and shoes and often had others to make their bed. Representative of this group, Brooke glories in the idea of war and of dying a patriotic death. The posh group died in large numbers because often in a show of bravado, they led their men from the front with only a pistol and a club.
The numbers of deaths and casualities from World War I is horrific. If any good came out of it, it was the weakening and breaking up of the European aristocracy and the worst of the class distinctions.
May 7, 2024
3.5 stars
A really interesting synthesis of a history of World War I through short biographies of the most famous of the English-language war poets: Rupert Brooke, Alan Seeger, Isaac Rosenberg, Siegfried Sassoon, and Wilfred Owens (and Robert Graves as he affected the last two - his is the shortest portrait, perhaps a minor vignette). What I liked best was the inclusion of several of the poems themselves as they highlighted what the poets were experiencing. Even more interesting from a literary standpoint were those instances where drafts and final poems were compared and discussed.
This is not a story new to me (I have dived deep into both the poetry and the horrific history of that war in the past), but it was a very fine compression into one volume, telling a cohesive story in an easily read text. Usefully, Korda does not shy from the ugly realities of how Edwardian society affected the men whose poems we still celebrate - the nastiness of the class system, the unconscious use of privilege, and so on. Rosenberg, a poverty-stricken Jew with enormous gifts compared to golden-boy Brooke, for example (I came away from this book having conceived a startling dislike of Brooke as a person).
Recommended for its brevity and clarity.
A really interesting synthesis of a history of World War I through short biographies of the most famous of the English-language war poets: Rupert Brooke, Alan Seeger, Isaac Rosenberg, Siegfried Sassoon, and Wilfred Owens (and Robert Graves as he affected the last two - his is the shortest portrait, perhaps a minor vignette). What I liked best was the inclusion of several of the poems themselves as they highlighted what the poets were experiencing. Even more interesting from a literary standpoint were those instances where drafts and final poems were compared and discussed.
This is not a story new to me (I have dived deep into both the poetry and the horrific history of that war in the past), but it was a very fine compression into one volume, telling a cohesive story in an easily read text. Usefully, Korda does not shy from the ugly realities of how Edwardian society affected the men whose poems we still celebrate - the nastiness of the class system, the unconscious use of privilege, and so on. Rosenberg, a poverty-stricken Jew with enormous gifts compared to golden-boy Brooke, for example (I came away from this book having conceived a startling dislike of Brooke as a person).
Recommended for its brevity and clarity.
April 25, 2024
didn't finish. life's too short. very little poetry. lots of repetition (several paragraphs start with the same idea in lead sentence). remarkably boring lives. one hundred pages on the first one, who only wrote two war poems. all we learn is that he was good looking (ad nauseam repetition on that point) but a waste of a person (ditto on the repeat mention).
made it through three of the poets. I rarely quit books but wish I had stopped earlier on this one.
not sure how this one was accepted for publication except this author apparently has written other stuff.
made it through three of the poets. I rarely quit books but wish I had stopped earlier on this one.
not sure how this one was accepted for publication except this author apparently has written other stuff.
May 19, 2024
Really good overview of WWI and the soldier poets. A couple of deep cuts here along with the ones everyone learns about in school. The Rupert Brooke section seemed to go on and on--my god, I wondered, how much can be said about a man who died in his twenties? But really that bit's an overview of Before the War and provides a lot of context (along with stories about early twentieth century bohemians like the Bloomsberries and the neo-Pagans).
April 22, 2024
There are 14 Welsh, Irish, Scottish & English War Poets usually listed, and Alan Seeger the American War Poet usually noted. Korda covers Rupert Brooke, Alan Seeger, Isaac Rosenberg, Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves & Wilfred Owen.
May 3, 2024
An excellent and highly readable account of the great poets of what was then called The Great War. Korda deserves credit for bringing to life brave men who were also poets of the first rank. The bravery of Robert Graves during that war, and of all of them, deserved this good retelling.
January 29, 2024
Thanks to the publisher for the ARC
May 3, 2024
Can't say enough good things about this.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews