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Walter John de la Mare (;〔Alec Guinness, ''Blessings in Disguise'', p. 93.〕 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for subtle psychological horror stories, amongst them "Seaton's Aunt" and "Out of the Deep". His 1921 novel ''Memoirs of a Midget'' won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction,〔("Fiction winners" ). James Tait Black Prizes: Previous Winners. The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 11 November 2012.〕 and his post-war ''Collected Stories for Children'' won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.〔 ==Life== De la Mare was born in Kent at 83 Maryon Road, Charlton〔Theresa Whistler, "(Mare, Walter John de la (1873–1956) )", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct. 2006. Retrieved 2 April 2013.〕 (now part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich), partly descended from a family of French Huguenots, and was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School. He was born to James Edward de la Mare, a principal at the Bank of England, and Lucy Sophia Browning (James' second wife), daughter of Scottish naval surgeon and author Dr Colin Arrott Browning. The suggestion that Lucy was related to poet Robert Browning has been found to be incorrect. He had two brothers, Francis Arthur Edward and James Herbert, and four sisters Florence Mary, Constance Eliza, Ethel (who died in infancy), and Ada Mary. De la Mare preferred to be known as 'Jack' by his family and friends as he disliked the name Walter. In 1892 de la Mare joined the Esperanza Amateur Dramatics Club where he met and fell in love with Elfrida Ingpen, the leading lady, who was ten years older than he. They were married on 4 August 1899 and they went on to have four children: Richard Herbert Ingpen, Colin, Florence and Lucy Elfrida de la Mare. Their house at Anerley in south London was the scene of many parties, notable for imaginative games of charades. 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. In 1908, through the efforts of Sir Henry Newbolt he received a Civil List pension which enabled him to concentrate on writing. In 1940, his wife Elfrida was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and spent the rest of her life as an invalid, eventually dying in 1943. From 1940 until his death, de la Mare lived in South End House, Montpelier Row, Twickenham, the same street on which Alfred, Lord Tennyson had lived a century earlier.〔(Twickenham: "Walter de la Mare" ). Telling Trails: Children's books authors, illustrators & literary landmarks.〕 For the ''Collected Stories for Children'' (Faber & Faber, 1947), he won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.〔 It was the first collection to win the award. De la Mare suffered from a coronary thrombosis in 1947 and died of another in 1956. He spent his final year mostly bed-ridden, being cared for by a nurse whom he loved but never had a physical relationship with.〔James Campbell, (A kind of magic ), The Guardian, 10 June 2006.〕 His ashes are buried in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, where he had once been a choirboy. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Walter de la Mare」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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