Henry Treece (22 December 1911 – 10 June 1966) was a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and writer who also worked as a teacher and editor. He wrote a range of works but is mostly remembered as a writer of children's historical novels.

Life and work

Treece was born in

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of 3 ...

, Staffordshire, and educated at the town's

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

. After graduating from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

in 1933, he went into teaching with his first placement being at Tynemouth School. In 1939 he married Mary Woodman and settled in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

as a teacher at

Barton-upon-Humber Barton-upon-Humber () or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is ...

Grammar School. Their son, Richard Treece, became a musician with

Help Yourself Help is a word meaning to give aid or signal distress. Help may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Help'' (2010 film), a Bollywood horror film * ''Help'' (2021 theatrical film), a British psychological thriller film * '' ...

and other rock bands. He published five volumes of poetry: ''38 Poems'' (London: Fortune Press, 1940), then by Faber & Faber; ''Invitation and Warning'' 1942; ''The Black Seasons'' 1945; ''The Haunted Garden'' 1947; and ''The Exiles'' 1952. He appeared in the 1949 ''The New British Poets: an anthology'' edited by Kenneth Rexroth; but from 1952 with ''The Dark Island'' he devoted himself to fiction. His best known are his juvenile historical novels, particularly those set in the

Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...

, although he also wrote some adult historical novels. Many of his novels are set in transitional periods in history, where more primitive societies are forced to face modernisation, e.g. the end of the Viking period, or the Roman conquest of Britain. His play ''Carnival King'' (Faber & Faber) was produced at Nottingham Playhouse in 1953. He also worked as a radio broadcaster. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

he served as an intelligence officer in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and helped

John Pudney John Sleigh Pudney (19 January 1909 – 10 November 1977) was a British poet, journalist and author. He was known especially for his popular poetry written during the Second World War, but he also wrote novels, short stories and children's fict ...

edit ''Air Force Poetry''. Other poetry anthologies he was involved with include ''The New Apocalypse'' (1939) with J. F. Hendry giving its name to the

New Apocalyptics The New Apocalyptics were a poetry grouping in the United Kingdom in the 1940s, taking their name from the anthology ''The New Apocalypse'' ( 1939), which was edited by J. F. Hendry (1912–1986) and Henry Treece. There followed the further anth ...

movement; two further anthologies with Hendry followed. He wrote a critical study of Dylan Thomas, called ''Dylan Thomas – Dog among the fairies'', published by Lindsay Drummond, London, in 1949. He and Thomas became estranged over Thomas's refusal to sign up as a New Apocalyptic. He also wrote ''Conquerors'' in 1932, as a way to reflect on the horrors of war. He edited issues of the magazines ''Transformation'', and ''A New Romantic Anthology'' (1949) with Stefan Schimanski, issues of ''Kingdom Come: The Magazine of War-Time Oxford'' with Schimanski and Alan Rook, as well as ''War-Time Harvest''. ''How I See Apocalypse'' (London, Lindsay Drummond, 1946) was a retrospective statement. Treece died from a heart attack in 1966. Treece's residency in Barton-upon-Humber is recorded by a blue plaque on East Acridge House, erected by the Civic Society in 2010.

Works

*''38 Poems'' (Fortune Press, 1940) *''The White Horseman: Prose and Verse of the New Apocalypse'', edited by J. F. Hendry and Henry Treece (Routledge, 1941) *''Invitation and Warning'' (Faber, 1942) poetry *''Transformation'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1943) *''Wartime Harvest: an anthology of prose and verse'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (John Bale and Staples, 1943) *Short piece in ''Writing Today'', edited by Denys Val Baker and Peter Ratazzi (Staples, 1943) *''Air Force Poetry'', edited by

and Henry Treece (John Lane, 1944) *''Herbert Read: an introduction to his work by various hands'', edited by Henry Treece (Faber, 1944) *''A Map of Hearts'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1944) *''Transformation 2'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1944) *''The Black Seasons'' (Faber, 1945) poetry *''The Crown and the Sickle: An Anthology'' edited by J. F. Hendry and Henry Treece (Staples, 1945) *''Transformation 3'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1945) *''How I See Apocalypse'' (Lindsay Drummond, 1946) *''I Cannot go Hunting Tomorrow'' (The Grey Walls Press, 1946) short stories *''Transformation 4'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1946) *''The Haunted Garden'' (Faber, 1947) poetry *''Leaves in the Storm: a book of diaries'', edited with a running commentary by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1947) *''Selected Poems of Algernon Charles Swinburne'', edited with an introduction by Henry Treece (The Grey Walls Press, 1948) *''Dylan Thomas: Dog among the fairies'' (Ernest Benn, 1949) criticism *''A New Romantic Anthology'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (The Grey Walls Press, 1949) *''The Exiles'' (Faber, 1952) poetry *''The Dark Island'' (Gollancz, 1952) novel *''The Rebels'' (Gollancz, 1953) novel *''Desperate Journey'' (Faber, 1954) for children *''Legions of the Eagle'' (The Bodley Head, 1954) historical novel for young people, set in the Roman conquest of Britain *''The Eagles Have Flown'' (The Bodley Head, 1954) historical novel for young people *''Ask for King Billy'' (Faber, 1955) for children *''Carnival King: A play in Three Acts'' (Faber, 1955) verse play *''Viking's Dawn'' (The Bodley Head, 1955) historical novel for young people, first in the Viking Trilogy *''Hounds of the King'' (The Bodley Head, 1955) historical novel for young people *''The Golden Strangers'' (The Bodley Head, 1956), set in prehistoric Britain *''The Great Captains'' (The Bodley Head, 1956) novel *''Hunter Hunted'' (Faber, 1957) for children *''Men of the Hills'' (The Bodley Head, 1957) historical novel for young people *''The Road to Miklagard'' (The Bodley Head, 1957) historical novel for young people, second in the Viking Trilogy *'' The Children's Crusade'' (The Bodley Head, 1958) historical novel for young people *''Don't Expect Any Mercy'' (Faber, 1958) for children *''The Return of Robinson Crusoe'' (Hulton Press - An Eagle Novel, 1958) historical novel for young people *''Red Queen, White Queen'' (The Bodley Head, 1958) novel *''Ride into Danger'' (Criterion Books, USA, 1959) novel *''The Master of Badger's Hall'' (Random House, USA, 1959) *''The Bombard'' (The Bodley Head, 1959) historical novel for young people *''Castles and Kings'' (Batsford, 1959) *''The True Books about Castles'' (Frederick Muller, 1959) *''Wickham and the Armada'' (Hulton Press - An Eagle Novel, 1959) historical novel for young people *''A Fighting Man'' (The Bodley Head, 1960) novel *''Viking's Sunset'' (The Bodley Head, 1960) historical novel for young people, third in the Viking Trilogy *''Red Settlement'' (The Bodley Head - Earlham Library, 1960) historical novel for young people *''The Golden One'' (The Bodley Head, 1961) historical novel for young people *''The Jet Beads'' (Brockhampton Press, 1961) novel *''Jason'' (The Bodley Head, 1961) novel *''The Crusades'' (The Bodley Head, 1962) *''Man with a Sword'' (The Bodley Head, 1962) historical novel for young people, about

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Traditional pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/, modern pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɪ.wəd/) (1035 – 1072) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resista ...

*''War Dog'' (Brockhampton Press, 1962) historical novel for young people *''Fighting Men: how men have fought through the ages'' (with Ronald Ewart Oakeshott) (Brockhampton Press, 1963) *''Horned Helmet'' (Brockhampton Press, 1963) historical novel for young people, about the

Jomsvikings The Jomsvikings were purportedly a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would allegedly fight for any lord who ...

*''Electra'' (The Bodley Head, 1963) novel *''The Crusades'' (Blackie - Know About Series, 1963) history *''The Burning of Njal'' (The Bodley Head, 1964) historical novel for young people *''The Last of the Vikings'' (Brockhampton Press, 1964) historical novel for young people, about

Harold Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 to ...

*'' Oedipus'' (The Bodley Head, 1964) novel *''The Bronze Sword'' (Hamish Hamilton - Antelope Books, 1965) historical novel for young people *''Splintered Sword'' (Brockhampton Press, 1965) historical novel for young people *''Killer in Dark Glasses'' (Faber, 1965) novel *''Two Radio Plays'' (accompanying a new edition of ''Hounds of the King'' - Longmans, 1965) *''Bang You're Dead!'' (Faber, 1966) novel *''The Queen's Brooch'' (Hamish Hamilton, 1966) historical novel for young people, set during

Boudicca Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

's rebellion *''The Green Man'' (The Bodley Head, 1966) *''Swords from the North'' (Faber, 1966) historical novel for young people *''The Windswept City'' (Hamish Hamilton - Reindeer Books, 1967) historical novel for young people, set in the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...

*'' Vinland the Good'' (The Bodley Head, 1967) historical novel for young people *''The Dream Time'' (Brockhampton Press, 1967) historical novel for young people *''The Centurion'' (Meredith Press, 1967) an 'augmented' version of ''The Bronze Sword'' (1965)

Adult historical fiction

*Celtic Tetralogy (ordered by chronological setting) **1) ''The Golden Strangers'' (1956); (titled ''The Invaders'' in the U.S.), about the arrival of the Celts in Britain **2) ''The Dark Island'' (1952); (titled ''The Savage Warriors'' in the U.S.), about the defeat of

Caratacus Caratacus (Brythonic ''*Caratācos'', Middle Welsh ''Caratawc''; Welsh ''Caradog''; Breton ''Karadeg''; Greek ''Καράτακος''; variants Latin ''Caractacus'', Greek ''Καρτάκης'') was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the ...

by the Romans after their invasion of Britain **3) ''Red Queen, White Queen'' (1958); (titled ''The Pagan Queen'' in the U.S.), about Boudica and the rebellion she led against Rome, as told through the eyes of a young Roman Imperial agent **4) ''The Great Captains'' (1956), a realistic story of King Arthur and the struggle of Celtic Britain to survive after the departure of the Romans * ''The Rebels'' (1953). Set during the last decade of Victoria's reign, it follows the fluctuating fortunes of the Fisher family, ironmasters who live in the Black Country town of Darlaston. Their ancestors were strong, tough and unpretentious, but now the family aspires to comfortable Victorian gentility. *Trilogy set in Mycenaean Greece, based on legendary characters: **''Jason'' (1961) **''Electra'' (also spelt ''Elektra'' for some editions) – US title ''The Amber Princess'' (1963) **''Oedipus'' – US title ''The Eagle King'' (1964) * ''The Green Man'' (1966) A reworking of ''Amleth's Vengeance'' from the

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

of Saxo Grammaticus (the basis for Shakespeare's tragedy, ''Hamlet''). Set in 6th century Jutland (Denmark), Duke Arthur's Britain and Caledonia (Scotland). Contains fantasy elements.

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

,"Green Man, The" in

Frank N. Magill Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curre ...

, ed. ''Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature'', Vol 2. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. (pp. 666-669).

Journal

*''

'' a periodical (edited with J. F. Hendry)

References

External links