The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp

The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (ISBN 0-7661-4674-X) is an autobiography (published in 1908) by the Welsh poet and writer William Henry Davies (1871 - 1940).

A large part of the book's subject matter described the way of life of the tramp in England and the United States of America at the time of migration and railway building.

George Bernard Shaw had become interested in Davies, even though he was a literary unknown at the time, and had agreed to write a preface for the book (largely through the concerted efforts of his wife Charlotte). It was only because of Shaw that Davies' contract with the publishers was re-written to allow the author to retain the serial rights, all rights after three years, royalties of fifteen per cent of selling price and a non-returnable advance of twenty five pounds. Davies was also to be given a say on the style of all illustrations, advertisement layouts and cover designs. The original publisher, Duckworth and Sons, refused to accept these demands and so the book was placed instead with Fifield. Shaw was also instrumental in keeping the unusual title of the book, of which Davies himself was unsure, and which later proved to be controversial with some reviewers.^[1]

On the official website of the British Progressive rock band Supertramp, reviewer P. Robichaud credits Davies' book for origin of the band's name.^[2]

In the biography Into The Wild (1996), the protagonist Christopher McCandless renames himself "Alexander Supertramp" when he begins his journey.

References

External links

• The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp at Internet Archive and Google Books (scanned books original editions multiple formats)
• The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (HTML)

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