Francis Thompson Popular Books

Francis Thompson Biography & Facts

Francis Joseph Thompson (16 December 1859 – 13 November 1907) was an English poet and Catholic mystic. At the behest of his father, a doctor, he entered medical school at the age of 18, but at 26 left home to pursue his talent as a writer and poet. He spent three years on the streets of London, supporting himself with menial labour, becoming addicted to opium which he took to relieve a nervous problem. In 1888 Wilfrid and Alice Meynell read his poetry and took the opium-addicted and homeless writer into their home for a time, later publishing his first volume, Poems, in 1893. In 1897, he began writing prose, drawing inspiration from life in the countryside, Wales and Storrington. His health, always fragile, continued to deteriorate and he died of tuberculosis in 1907. By that time he had published three books of poetry, along with other works and essays. Early life and study Thompson was born in Winckley Street, Preston, Lancashire and baptized four days later in St Ignatius Church. His father, Charles, was a doctor who had converted to Roman Catholicism, following his brother Edward Healy Thompson, a friend of Cardinal Manning. Edward Healy, along with John Costall Thompson, Francis' uncles, were both authors. Francis had a brother who died in infancy, and three younger sisters.At the age of eleven, Thompson was sent to Ushaw College, a Catholic seminary near Durham. A frail, delicate and extremely shy boy, he was described by his school fellows in 1870 as 'mooney' or abstracted but happy enough. He could be recognised from afar along an 'ambulacrum' or corridor by his habit of sidling sheepishly along the wall with the collar of his coat turned up. Most of his leisure time was spent in the college library where he was fond of history and poetry books. It was noticed that despite the distractions in the library of catapult fights and general mayhem, he had the ability to shut himself off and continue to be absorbed in his reading.As he advanced up the college he became more skilled at writing and his friends remembered that out of twenty examination essays he obtained first place on sixteen occasions. Once he was punished with a beating for being the last boy to be ready for PE drill. He had no interest in Mathematics and, in his final exam, he came last. The only sport in which he developed an interest was Handball and it is said he achieved a standard above the average. He became a connoisseur of cricket though he rarely participated. In preparation for Ushaw College's centenary celebrations due to take place in 1908, Thompson, by then a celebrated poet, was approached to write a Jubilee Ode to mark the occasion. The poet was delighted that the assignment had been offered to him and it is said that he looked forward to seeing his 'College home' once more. His death, however, in 1907 meant that the commission was never carried out. Thompson studied medicine for nearly eight years at Owens College, now the University of Manchester. While excelling in essay writing, he took no interest in his medical studies; he had a passion for poetry and for watching cricket matches. He never practised as a doctor, and tried to enlist as a soldier but was rejected for his slightness of stature. Then in 1885 he fled, penniless, to London, where he tried to make a living as a writer, in the meantime taking odd jobs – working for a bootmaker (John McMaster of Panton Street) and booksellers, and selling matches. During this time, he became addicted to opium, which he had first taken as medicine for ill health, having experienced a nervous breakdown while still in Manchester. He lived on the streets of Charing Cross and slept by the River Thames, with the homeless and other addicts. He was turned down by Oxford University, not because he was unqualified, but because of his addiction. Thompson contemplated suicide in his nadir of despair, but was saved from completing the action through a vision which he believed to be that of a youthful poet Thomas Chatterton, who had committed suicide over a century earlier. A prostitute, whose identity Thompson never revealed, befriended him and gave him lodgings. Thompson later described her in his poetry as his saviour. Writing career In 1888, after three years on the streets, he was 'discovered' after sending his poetry to the magazine Merrie England. He was sought out by the magazine's editors, Wilfrid and Alice Meynell, who recognised the value of his work. They took him into their home and, concerned about his opium addiction which was at its height following his years on the streets, sent him to Our Lady of England Priory, Storrington, for a couple of years. He continued to take opium but in small doses at irregular intervals, to relieve nerve pain.Francis wrote most of his poetry during this period from 1888 – 1897, after which he turned to writing prose. He struck up a good relationship with the Meynells who, parents and children, furnished inspiration for some of his poetry. They arranged for publication of his first book Poems in 1893. The book attracted the attention of sympathetic critics in the St James's Gazette and other newspapers, and Coventry Patmore wrote a eulogistic notice in the Fortnightly Review of January 1894. Francis' poem The Hound of Heaven was called by the Bishop of London "one of the most tremendous poems ever written," and by critics "the most wonderful lyric in the language," while the Times of London declared that people will still be learning it 200 years hence. His verse continued to elicit high praise from critics right up to his last volume in 1897. His selected poems published in 1908 contains about 50 pieces in all. Notable among his prose works are an essay on Shelley, "The Life of St. Ignatius", and "Health and Holiness". Later life and death Thompson moved around frequently, subsequently living near Pantasaph, Flintshire, in Wales and at Storrington. A lifetime of poverty, ill-health, and opium addiction had taken their toll on him, even though he found success in his last years. Thompson died from tuberculosis at the age of 47, in the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, and is buried in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Kensal Green. His tomb bears the last line from a poem he wrote for his godson, a Meynell: Look for me in the nurseries of Heaven. Style and influence His most famous poem, The Hound of Heaven, describes the pursuit of the human person by God. The playwright Eugene O’Neill could recite it from memory.In 2002, Katherine A. Powers, literary columnist for the Boston Globe, called Hound of Heaven "perhaps the most beloved and ubiquitously taught poem among American Catholics for over half a century," adding that Thompson's other poetry lost its popularity amidst anti-Modernism in the Catholic church during most of the twentieth century. However, she agrees that the dawning century is more akin to his spirit: "His medical training and life on the streets gave him a gritty view of re.... Discover the Francis Thompson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Francis Thompson books.

Best Seller Francis Thompson Books of 2024

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    Homecoming

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    As the Sun Breaks Through

    Ellie Dean

    THE FIFTEENTH CLIFFEHAVEN NOVEL BY SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLIE DEANCliffehaven, June 1944As the planes continue to circle over Cliffehaven, Peggy Reilly’s sister Doris mu...

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    Shelter from the Storm

    Ellie Dean

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    A Christmas Wish for the Shipyard Girls

    Nancy Revell

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    A Delicate Game

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    A footballer dies of dementia, younger than he should.A teenage rugby player plays on through multiple blows and never wakes up from the last one.A scientist reveals endemic brain...

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    A Nightingale Christmas Wish

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    As Christmas 1938 approaches, the staff at the Nightingale Hospital have their own wishes for the festive season. Ward sister Frannie Wallace is hoping she won’t have to live throu...

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    Some Lucky Day

    Ellie Dean

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    Nightingales on Call

    Donna Douglas

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    Cemetery Lake

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    With Hope and Love

    Ellie Dean

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    Nightingales at War

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  • The complete works of Francis Thompson. Illustrated synopsis, comments

    The complete works of Francis Thompson. Illustrated

    Francis Thompson

    Francis was an English poet and Catholic mystic.He spent three years on the streets of London, supporting himself with menial labour, becoming addicted to opium which he took to re...

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    Secrets of the Shipyard Girls

    Nancy Revell

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    The Nightingale Sisters

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    Sweet Memories of You

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    Sealed With a Loving Kiss

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    Orphan Girl

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    The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro

    Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais

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    Shipyard Girls at War

    Nancy Revell

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    Works of Francis Thompson

    Francis Thompson

    8 works of Francis Thompson English poet and ascetic (18591907) This ebook presents a collection of 8 works of Francis Thompson. A dynamic table of contents allows you to jump dire...

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    Rags to Riches

    Maggie Ford

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    Half a Sixpence

    Evie Grace

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    The Shipyard Girls on the Home Front

    Nancy Revell

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    Keep Smiling Through

    Ellie Dean

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    The Nightingale Girls

    Donna Douglas

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    All My Tomorrows

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    Where the Heart Lies

    Ellie Dean

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    Nightingales Under the Mistletoe

    Donna Douglas

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    The Waiting Hours

    Ellie Dean

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    Always in my Heart

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    A Nightingale Christmas Carol

    Donna Douglas

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    Sons And Daughters

    Mary Jane Staples

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    On a Turning Tide

    Ellie Dean

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    A Place to Call Home

    Evie Grace

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    A Nightingale Christmas Promise

    Donna Douglas

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    The Nightingale Nurses

    Donna Douglas

    ‘Pay attention please, nurses. The next six months will be the most important of your lives’It’s the final year of training for three young nurses at The Nightingale Hospital… Hele...

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    District Nurse on Call

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    Until You Come Home

    Ellie Dean

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    With a Kiss and a Prayer

    Ellie Dean

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    The Nurses of Steeple Street

    Donna Douglas

    FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE NIGHTINGALE SERIES COMES THE FIRST BOOK IN DONNA DOUGLAS' NEW NURSES OF STEEPLE STREET SERIES.Welcome to the district nurses...