cover image The Frost Family's Adventure in Poetry: Sheer Morning Gladness at the Brim

The Frost Family's Adventure in Poetry: Sheer Morning Gladness at the Brim

Lesley Lee Francis. University of Missouri Press, $29.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-8262-0945-0

Francis, a member of the Executive Committee of the Robert Frost Society who is a granddaughter of the Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet, here takes issue with her famous relative's reputation as a selfish and uncaring parent, an assessment she attributes to the bias of Frost biographer Lawrence Thompson. Drawing primarily on family letters, journals and notebooks written by the Frost's four children, Francis presents a detailed account of their family life from 1905-1915. The poet and his wife, Elinor, educated their three daughters and son at home and, Francis argues, family papers depict an involved father who encouraged his children's writings and imagination. From 1912-1915 the Frosts lived in England, where they socialized with poets Edward Thomas, W. H. Davies and Eleanor Farjeon, and where Frost (1874-1963) published his first volume of poetry, A Boy's Will. The family's return to America is treated sketchily here. A worthy addition to Frost studies. Illustrations not seen by PW. (May)