Thank you! I have known the poem "Invictus" since childhood. It was a favorite of my father's. But I didn't know much at all about Henley himself, and your piece here gives me a much fuller picture of the man. A very enjoyable read.
This and many other poems and essays by 19th century British and American authors were collected in "Elbert Hubbard's Scrapbook," which I read avidly as a child. Hubbard was a prominent atheist, so my very Catholic mother didn't approve, but my father winked and slipped me the book. Hubbard wend down with the Lusitania, which my mother thought was a punishment for his atheism, but which I thought was a terrible shame and a waste. If you can every find a copy it contains much to enjoy.
Thank you so much for sharing this anecdote with me! I will definitely be on the lookout for that book, I'd love to read it! There is an amazing book by Erik Larson on the sinking of the Lusitania, Dead Wake. I haven't read all of it yet but he does mention Hubbard. For some reason, the emotional element of that moment in history has never left me since learning about it.
Thank you! I have known the poem "Invictus" since childhood. It was a favorite of my father's. But I didn't know much at all about Henley himself, and your piece here gives me a much fuller picture of the man. A very enjoyable read.
This and many other poems and essays by 19th century British and American authors were collected in "Elbert Hubbard's Scrapbook," which I read avidly as a child. Hubbard was a prominent atheist, so my very Catholic mother didn't approve, but my father winked and slipped me the book. Hubbard wend down with the Lusitania, which my mother thought was a punishment for his atheism, but which I thought was a terrible shame and a waste. If you can every find a copy it contains much to enjoy.
Thank you so much for sharing this anecdote with me! I will definitely be on the lookout for that book, I'd love to read it! There is an amazing book by Erik Larson on the sinking of the Lusitania, Dead Wake. I haven't read all of it yet but he does mention Hubbard. For some reason, the emotional element of that moment in history has never left me since learning about it.