Includes bibliographical references (p. [505]-511) and index.

In one of the most comprehensive pictures of the poet yet published, James Booth examines the people, the places and the chance encounters that influenced Larkin and shaped his poetry. From Larkin's early life, his academic studies and his aspirations as a novelist, an image emerges of a reserved and gentle man greatly affected by those close to him. Delving into his fluctuating relationships with Maeve Brennan and Monica Jones, two of the many women in Larkin's life, and analysing their varied effect on his work, Booth sheds fresh light on one of Britain's best loved poets.