Picture of author.

Walter de la Mare (1873–1956)

Author of Memoirs of a Midget

245+ Works 3,900 Members 35 Reviews 13 Favorited
There are 2 open discussions about this author. See now.

About the Author

Born in a Kent village, Walter de la Mare was born on April 25, 1873. He was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children and for his poem "The Listeners". His 1921 novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for show more fiction and his post-war Collected Stories for Children won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books. De la Mare's first book, Songs of Childhood, was published under the name Walter Ramal. He worked in the statistics department of the London office of Standard Oil for eighteen years to support his family, but nevertheless found time to write. De la Mare suffered from a coronary thrombosis in 1947 and died of another in 1956. His ashes are buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, where he had once been a choirboy. (Bowker Author Biography) Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) was a poet, novelist, & anthologist. The recipient of numerous awards, he held honorary degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, & several other universities. (Publisher Provided) show less
Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)

Works by Walter de la Mare

Memoirs of a Midget (1921) 309 copies
Peacock Pie (1913) 307 copies
The Return (1922) 169 copies
The Three Mulla-Mulgars (1910) 117 copies
Behold, This Dreamer! (1605) 72 copies
Songs of Childhood (1902) 71 copies
Tales Told Again (1927) 70 copies
Stories from the Bible (1929) 60 copies
Ghost Stories (1936) 57 copies
Short Stories 1895-1926 (1996) 51 copies
The Turnip (1927) 51 copies
Collected Rhymes and Verses (1944) 50 copies
Motley and Other Poems (1918) 43 copies
Poems of To-day: An Anthology (1915) — Contributor — 42 copies
Snow (2014) 41 copies
Henry Brocken (1904) 37 copies
Molly Whuppie (1702) 37 copies
Bells and Grass (1941) 36 copies
Love (1943) 33 copies
Summer Evening (2016) 31 copies
Strangers and Pilgrims (2007) 31 copies
The Lord Fish (1933) 29 copies
Broomsticks & other tales (1925) 28 copies
Selected Stories and Verses (1952) 27 copies
The Magic Jacket (1962) 24 copies
Stories, essays and poems (1938) 24 copies
Silver (2017) 24 copies
The Ride-by-Nights (2015) 23 copies
Ding Dong Bell (1924) 23 copies
Down-adown-derry (1922) 22 copies
Short Stories for Children (2006) 22 copies
Voice, The (1986) 21 copies
Poems (1906) — Author — 21 copies
Missing (Modern Voices) (2007) 20 copies
Animal Stories (1939) 20 copies
Eight Tales (1971) 20 copies
On the Edge (1930) 18 copies
The Veil and Other Poems (1922) 18 copies
The Wind Blows Over (1936) 16 copies
Early One Morning (1945) 16 copies
Seaton's Aunt (1987) 15 copies
Stuff and Nonsense (1927) 15 copies
Poems, 1901 to 1918 (1920) 14 copies
The traveller (1947) 14 copies
Mr. Bumps and His Monkey (1942) 13 copies
Lewis Carroll (1932) 12 copies
Selected poems (1927) 11 copies
Inward companion : poems (1950) 11 copies
L'Orgie : une idylle (1965) 11 copies
Poems for children (1930) 10 copies
A penny a day (1960) 10 copies
Alone (1927) 10 copies
La tromba (1993) 8 copies
Crossings (1923) 7 copies
This year, next year (1937) 7 copies
Reading Walter de la Mare (2020) 7 copies
Some Stories (1962) 6 copies
At First Sight (1998) 6 copies
A snowdrop (1929) 6 copies
The Story of Moses (1959) 6 copies
The Story of Joseph (1958) 5 copies
Poems, 1919 to 1934 (1936) 5 copies
To Lucy (The Ariel poems) (1931) 5 copies
Miss Jemima (1940) 5 copies
Racconti del mistero (2007) 5 copies
All Hallows 5 copies
Jack and the beanstalk (1959) 4 copies
Story and Rhyme 4 copies
Dream Song (2019) 4 copies
Poetry in prose (1937) 4 copies
Self to self (1928) 4 copies
The Winnowing Dream (1954) 4 copies
5 others. 3 copies
Before dawn 3 copies
Two poems 3 copies
The Almond Tree (1985) — Author — 3 copies
The eighteen-eighties (1971) 3 copies
The Lost Track (1993) 3 copies
Readings (1927) 3 copies
Mr. Kempe (1925) 3 copies
Out of the Deep 2 copies
Twelve poets 2 copies
Haunted 2 copies
The Listeners (1944) 2 copies
A froward child 2 copies
News 2 copies
Dick Whittington (1951) 2 copies
Private View (1986) 2 copies
Ognissanti 1 copy
Pesnia sna 1 copy
Los musicos (1901) 1 copy
Two tales 1 copy
The Riddle 1 copy
Heidi 1 copy
Señor pez (1999) 1 copy
The Dutch Cheese (1931) 1 copy
The Tree 1 copy
Old Joe 1 copy
The old men 1 copy
The hostage 1 copy
The morrow 1 copy
A Recluse 1 copy
Ten Poems (2008) 1 copy
Bad Company 1 copy
The warmint: A poem (1976) 1 copy
F.P 1 copy
The Nap 1 copy
Pretty Poll 1 copy
The Wharf 1 copy
43 others. 1 copy
12 others. 1 copy
8 others. 1 copy
16 others. 1 copy
21 others. 1 copy
25 others. 1 copy
19 others. 1 copy
23 others. 1 copy
131 others. 1 copy
SPE tracts 1 copy

Associated Works

Emil and the Detectives (1929) — Introduction, some editions — 1,757 copies
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (2000) — Contributor — 1,225 copies
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 901 copies
The Dark Descent (1987) — Contributor — 706 copies
The Nation's Favourite Poems (1996) — Contributor — 617 copies
The Book of Fantasy (1940) — Contributor — 586 copies
The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories (1986) — Contributor — 537 copies
The Crock of Gold (1912) — Introduction, some editions — 506 copies
The Oxford Book of Short Stories (1981) — Contributor — 504 copies
Black Water: The Book of Fantastic Literature (1983) — Contributor — 490 copies
A Pocket Book of Modern Verse (1954) — Contributor, some editions — 435 copies
World War One British Poets (1997) — Contributor — 389 copies
The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales (1993) — Contributor — 358 copies
75 Short Masterpieces: Stories from the World's Literature (1961) — Contributor — 289 copies
In the Nursery (My Book House) (1932) — Contributor — 279 copies
The Fireside Book of Christmas Stories (1944) — Contributor — 275 copies
The Penguin Book of Contemporary Verse (1950) — Contributor, some editions — 263 copies
The Literary Cat (1977) — Contributor — 239 copies
The Omnibus of Crime (1929) — Contributor — 205 copies
Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror (2014) — Contributor — 121 copies
Poems of Early Childhood (Childcraft) (1923) — Contributor — 113 copies
The Standard Book of British and American Verse (1932) — Contributor — 110 copies
The Book of Cats (1976) — Contributor — 106 copies
Cat Stories (Everyman's Pocket Classics) (2011) — Contributor — 92 copies
Storytelling and Other Poems (Childcraft) (1949) — Contributor — 89 copies
Damnable Tales: A Folk Horror Anthology (2021) — Contributor — 84 copies
A Book of Princesses (1963) — Contributor — 84 copies
H.P. Lovecraft's Favorite Weird Tales (2005) — Contributor — 83 copies
Beastly Verse (2014) — Contributor — 82 copies
Weird Woods: Tales from the Haunted Forests of Britain (2020) — Contributor — 81 copies
The Treasury of English Short Stories (1985) — Contributor — 81 copies
The Everyman Anthology of Poetry for Children (1994) — Contributor — 71 copies
The Oxford Book of Twentieth-Century Ghost Stories (1996) — Contributor — 70 copies
Great Ghost Stories (1936) — Contributor — 67 copies
A Fabulous Formless Darkness (1991) — Contributor — 64 copies
Ghost Stories and Other Horrid Tales (1997) — Contributor — 62 copies
The Mammoth Book of Fairy Tales (1997) — Contributor — 62 copies
The Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1964) — Contributor — 60 copies
Dark: Stories of Madness, Murder and the Supernatural (2000) — Contributor — 56 copies
Stories of Ghosts, Witches, and Demons (1971) — Contributor — 55 copies
Great Tales of Fantasy and Imagination (1945) — Contributor — 54 copies
The Century's Best Horror Fiction Volume 1 (2011) — Contributor — 51 copies
The Fairies' Ring (1999) — Contributor — 46 copies
The House of the Nightmare and Other Eerie Tales (1750) — Author, some editions; Contributor — 46 copies
An Omnibus of 20th Century Ghost Stories (1989) — Contributor — 45 copies
Prose and Poetry for Appreciation (1934) — Contributor — 45 copies
Key Words Reading Scheme: The Open Door to Reading (1967) — Contributor — 45 copies
The Second Ghost Book (1952) — Contributor — 45 copies
A Golden Land (1958) — Contributor — 41 copies
Great Tales of Terror (2002) — Contributor — 39 copies
A Quarto of Modern Literature (1935) — Contributor — 38 copies
Six Novels of the Supernatural (1944) — Contributor — 38 copies
The Ghost Book: Sixteen Stories of the Uncanny (1926) — Contributor — 33 copies
Ghost and Goblins: Stories for Halloween (1936) — Contributor — 32 copies
Great Short Stories of Detection, Mystery, and Horror (1928) — Contributor — 31 copies
Witches, Witches, Witches (1958) — Contributor — 30 copies
The Mystery Book (1934) — Contributor — 28 copies
Collected poems (introduction by Walter De La Mare) (2012) — Introduction — 27 copies
The Night Side: Masterpieces of the Strange and Terrible (1947) — Contributor — 27 copies
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre (1947) — Contributor — 25 copies
Fantasy Tales (1977) — Contributor — 22 copies
Open the Door (1965) — Contributor — 21 copies
Night chills : stories of suspense and horror (1975) — Contributor — 21 copies
Ten Poems about Cats (2011) — Contributor — 16 copies
Paha vieras (1996) 15 copies
The Fireside Book of Ghost Stories (1947) — Contributor — 15 copies
Tales Out of Time (1979) — Contributor — 15 copies
Poems of Magic and Spells (1960) — Contributor — 14 copies
Twenty-Nine Stories (1960) — Contributor — 13 copies
Spooks, Spooks, Spooks (1966) — Contributor — 12 copies
A Second Storyteller's Choice (1965) — Contributor — 12 copies
Castles and Dragons (1958) — Contributor — 11 copies
Favourite Scary Stories from Graveside Al (1996) — Contributor — 11 copies
The Bedside Lilliput (1950) — Contributor — 11 copies
Uncanny Tales 2 (1974) — Contributor — 11 copies
The Haunted and the Haunters (1975) — Contributor — 10 copies
All Sails Set (1948) — Contributor — 8 copies
All Day Long: An Anthology of Poetry for Children (1954) — Contributor — 8 copies
Four to Fourteen: a Library of Books for Children (1950) — Introduction — 7 copies
A Treasury of Great Short Stories — Contributor — 7 copies
Shudders (1929) — Contributor — 7 copies
Twelve Short Masterpieces (1986) — Contributor — 7 copies
The Eighteenth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories (1982) — Contributor — 7 copies
The Story Survey (1953) — Contributor — 6 copies
Number Two Joy Street (1924) — Contributor — 6 copies
Giants! Giants! Giants! (1980) — Contributor — 6 copies
Chosen for Children (1957) — Contributor — 5 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, October 1973 (1973) — Contributor — 5 copies
The Weans of Rowallan (1905) — Preface, some editions — 5 copies
Ghosts and Ghastlies (1976) — Contributor — 5 copies
Number Six Joy Street (1928) — Contributor — 4 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 2, October 1977 (1977) — Contributor — 4 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1, September 1977 (1977) — Contributor — 3 copies
Number Four Joy Street (1926) — Contributor — 3 copies
Cubwood — Introduction — 3 copies
Cricket Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 5, January 1978 — Contributor — 3 copies
Forrest Reid: A Portrait and a Study (1953) — Introduction — 2 copies
150 anni in Giallo (1989) — Contributor — 2 copies
Number Five Joy Street (1927) — Contributor — 2 copies
Number One Joy Street (1923) — Contributor — 2 copies
Fantastyczne Opowieści — Contributor — 1 copy
Mystery and Suspense — Contributor; Contributor — 1 copy
Stories for girls — Contributor — 1 copy
The uncharted coast — Preface, some editions — 1 copy
Emil and the Detectives and The 35th of May — Introduction, some editions — 1 copy
Rosemary — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

20th century (112) anthology (1,129) British (52) cats (146) children (133) children's (220) children's books (59) children's fiction (53) children's literature (115) Christmas (72) collection (82) English (68) English literature (81) fairy tales (143) fantasy (335) fiction (1,183) Folio Society (77) German (73) ghost stories (153) ghosts (107) hardcover (46) horror (514) illustrated (46) literary criticism (51) literature (384) mystery (151) non-fiction (113) novel (84) poems (53) poetry (1,808) read (66) reference (75) short stories (880) stories (53) supernatural (55) textbook (68) to-read (367) unread (82) writing (68) WWI (48)

Common Knowledge

Members

Discussions

THE DEEP ONES: "Mr. Kempe" by Walter de la Mare in The Weird Tradition (July 20)
THE DEEP ONES: "All Hallows" by Walter de la Mare in The Weird Tradition (June 15)

Reviews

A few standout poems.
½
 
Flagged
gtross | Sep 17, 2023 |
 
Flagged
judeprufrock | Jul 4, 2023 |
The fictional introduction to these fictional memoirs promises an account of a remarkable woman, of keen intellect, whose travels and experiences are such a marvel that they must be shared via publication.

What are we delivered? A single year in the life of this woman. During this year, her twentieth, she loses her parents and her home; is set up with a livable income and provided a home-for-life as a boarder; becomes a spoiled pet of the bored nobility; and finally, joins the circus for three nights to earn enough money to return to her life as a boarder. Throughout this, she treats those around her with contempt or at least disrespect, living the life of a privileged shut-in. We are, in summary, offered no evidence of a keen intellect nor of a remarkable personality, and the travels and experiences of a shut-in are neither extensive or interesting.

Oh, and the woman is a midget. Not an actual midget or little-person or insufficiently-altitudinous or whatever the proper term might be, but a scale model of an attractive woman, about two feet high.
… (more)
 
Flagged
mkfs | 2 other reviews | Aug 13, 2022 |
Not sure what to say about this one. It's unclear whether de la Mare is intentionally being funny, or is deadly serious about absurd things.

A good example is the tale about the lecturer, who gives a fifteen minute (and possibly twice as many pages) talk on Edgar Allen Poe, followed by an afterword from the guy who invited him to lecture. After the talk breaks up, the ghost of Poe shows up to argue a rebuttal with the lecturer. After all this tedium is said and done, and the ghost is gone, the lecturer thinks: Did Poe change my view of his work? No, what he said agrees with what I thought of it. Did he change my unfavorable view of him as a person? No, in fact, now I hate him rather than merely dislike him.

Amusing to relate in just a few sentences, but long and quite tedious and decidedly un-funny in de la Mare's telling.

There's a lot more like that, in particular turns of phrase which are awkward or jarring, and while entertaining to the jaded reader, they likely were not intended to be. I highlighted a bunch of examples on the kindle while reading, but really, this book is not worth taking the trouble to include them.

The greatest weakness of this collection is undoubtedly de la Mare's storytelling ability. It is unclear where most of these meandering tales are going, and once they get there, it is uncertain where one has ended up. This sounds like good psychological horror, but it's not. The reader is left thinking, "Did anything actually happen? Because he didn't describe anything happening. Why did he bother telling this story at all?" In short, you really gotta dig to find anything supernatural in most of these stories, and bereft of that, they have little else to recommend them.
… (more)
 
Flagged
mkfs | 1 other review | Aug 13, 2022 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Laurence Binyon Contributor
Hilaire Belloc Contributor
H. C. Beeching Contributor
John Masefield Contributor
Alice Meynell Contributor
Francis Thompson Contributor
Carolina Rabei Illustrator
Mabel Lapthorn Illustrator
Margery Gill Illustrator
Auden W H Editor, Introduction
Rex Whistler Illustrator
Leonard Clark Foreword
Paul Kennedy Illustrator
Winifred Bromhall Illustrator
Edward Ardizzone Illustrator
Louise Brierley Illustrator
Barbara Cooney Illustrator
W. Heath Robinson Illustrator
Dorothy Lathrop Illustrator
Estella Canziani Illustrator
Richard Doyle Frontispiece
Philip Pullman Introduction
Robin Jacques Illustrator
Theodore Nadejen Illustrator
Errol Le Cain Introduction
Berthold Wolpe Illustrator
Dorothy P. Lathrop Illustrator
Seth Illustrator
Paul E. Kennedy Illustrator

Statistics

Works
245
Also by
122
Members
3,900
Popularity
#6,494
Rating
4.0
Reviews
35
ISBNs
326
Languages
9
Favorited
13
Touchstones
86

Charts & Graphs