John Edward Masefield (June 1878-May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967. He is remembered as the author of the classic children's novels, "The Midnight Folk" and "The Box of Delights", two novels "Captain Margaret" and "Multitude and Solitude". This book tells his story.

Born in Ledbury in 1878, John Masefield was apprenticed under sail before spending several years in the US. On his return to England he worked as a journalist for the Manchester Guardian and other newspapers, and his first poems were published at the start of last century. In 1911 The Everlasting Mercy was published and caused a sensation with its brutal realism; over the next two decades he established himself as a poet, playwright, novelist, and historian. He enjoyed the friendship of Robert Graves and Yeats, and was appointed Poet Laureate in 1930. He died in 1967. Constance Babington-Smith received the full co-operation and support of Masefield's family, and has access to many previously unpublished papers and letters. The result is a well-rounded and absorbing biography of one of the best-loved English poets, one whose reputation has been in the doldrums for far too long.