The Cverdice of Bridlegoose

by Llewelyn Powys

. 1975 Village Press clean copy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1926

About the author

Llewelyn Powys was an English novelist and essayist. He was the younger brother of the writers John Cowper Powys and T.F. Powys and a descendent of the poet William Cowper.

Reviews

[Richard S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful autobiographical work about Llewelyn's five years in the United States from 1920 to 1925 after his return from Africa. He arrives in New York in utter obscurity and poverty, seeking odd jobs, but it ends with him leaving married to the wonderful Alyse Gregory, editor of the Dial. Llewelyn's style is exquisite, never a word out of place. His encounters with a large variety of famous artists (and some even famous now (Dreiser, Fitzgerald, Millay, Stieglitz)) are extraordinary, and his observations are brilliant. He was a part of the great literary and artistic scene in New York at the time, and the book is a wonderful insight into that world. It was fun to look up some of the luminaries, and I added a couple of books to my list as a result.

He spends some time in San Francisco, which is described beautifully, but Llewelyn does a particularly excellent job of describing a trip to the Rocky Mountains, some of the best nature writing I've come across.

Having lived in New York for many years, and spent some time in San Francisco, the Rocky Mountains and even the Catskills, this book was wonderful to read. Llewelyn's prose is exquisite, and his tone is just perfect. He has that wonderful love of humanity that the Powys possess. The book would make a nice introduction to Llewelyn Powys' work for an interested American, or anyone interested in that period of history, or American culture.