Beginnings and Echoes

Because John Cowper Powys died recently (1963), and because his novels have qualities generally regarded as ‘modern’, it is necessary to realise that he was born and brought up in a world that has entirely and utterly vanished. Also, despite the fact that many people who knew Powys are still living; despite the candour of his autobiographical writings; despite the many memoirs that feature him; his personality remains enigmatic. Powys needs a George D. Painter or a Gittings to produce a full-scale life. Anecdotes cannot serve as biography, but they can perhaps help to suggest an atmosphere.