Missing Persons

by E.R. Dodds

This memoir by the late distinguished classicist tells of Dodds' travels from China to San Francisco, his encounters with literary figures including Yeats, Eliot, Auden, and MacNeice, and his conflicting educations in Belfast, Dublin, and Oxford. The result is a moving account of one man's instinctive search for an identity in a time of deep moral, political, and aesthetic confusion.

Genres: Biography, Memoir

220 pages, cloth

First published December 7, 1976

About the author

Eric Robertson Dodds was an Irish classical scholar. He signed all his publications E. R. Dodds.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dodds is a fascinating teller of his life from his boyhood in (Anglican) Ireland, his student days and his amazing career as a scholar of Greek literature, especially its 'irrational' aspects. Somehow both humble and clear about his achievements.

[Tumblyhome (Caroline) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading a lot of Greek literature lately and am slowly learning Attic/classical Greek. I just keep coming across E.R. Dodds.. I have been enjoying reading his book about Greek and the Irrational and have an early edition of his Bacchae but the most influential thing I have read of his was an essay in Interpretations of Oedipus edited by Harold Bloom. Something in Dodds essay really resonated with me and made me think differently about how I read. I don’t know if it was remarkable for everyone, but it really fascinated me.

Anyway, I wanted to know more about this man and found he had written an autobiography. I struggled to find an edition but did eventually find an almost pristine copy from World of Books.

Dodds led a life less ordinary in difficult times. He was born in Ireland, had an alcoholic father who died early. His mother should be applauded for doing everything for her very gifted son and opening up the world for him. He witnessed the Easter uprising in 1916, the first and Second World War, travelled extensively both during the wars and for his academic career. He met and befriended TS Eliot, Auden and many other luminaries. In short he had a full and incredible life.

The book rambles a bit in places, sometimes he seems to be pouring out his memories onto paper but the images for the reader stay in his head… but I just felt it was incredibly honest and genuine. I enjoyed that the book was unedited and rambling… I felt at times that I was sitting with him and he was talking … not that I was just reading what a man wrote decades ago.
I give this five stars for all the fascinating parts, like when he worked as a medical orderly in the First World War and his incredible career… but also for the companionship I felt as he rambled.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent work. The reissued edition seems to lack the front cover photograph of the author.