Alfred Noyes (1880-1958), English poet
Alfred Noyes (September 16, 1880 – June 28, 1958)[1] was an English poet, best known for his ballads The Highwayman (1906) and The Barrel Organ.
Born in Wolverhampton, England, he was the son of Alfred and Amelia Adams Noyes. Noyes
attended Exeter College, Oxford, leaving before he had earned a degree.
At 21 years of age, he published his first collection of poems, The Loom Years. From 1903
to 1908, Noyes published five volumes of poetry books, including The Forest of Wild Thyme
and The Flower of Old Japan and Other Poems.
In 1907, he married Garnett Daniels. He was given the opportunity to teach English literature at
Princeton University, where he taught from 1914 until
1923. Noyes' wife died in 1926, resulting in his conversion to
Roman Catholicism. He wrote about his conversion in The Unknown God,
published in 1934.
Noyes later married Mary Angela Mayne Weld-Blundell, from an old recusant Catholic family
from Ince Blundell in Lancashire. They settled at
Lisle Combe, near Ventnor on the Isle of Wight and had
three children: Henry, Veronica, and Margaret. His younger daughter married Michael
Nolan (later Lord Nolan) in 1953.
He later started dictating his work as a result of increasing blindness. In 1953, his
autobiography, Two Worlds for Memory, was published.
Noyes died at the age of 78 and was buried on the Isle of Wight. He authored around sixty books, including poetry volumes,
novels, and short stories. Noyes' poetry supports patriotism and war heroes, reflects his
appreciation for nature, his respect for explorers of the scientific world, and his faith in God.
Notes
- ^ [1] According to some sources, he died on June 25, but others, including
Encyclopædia Britannica give the date as June 28
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