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Stuart Anderson's avatar

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.

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Rebecca Day's avatar

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.

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