Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell's major work has remained in print continuously and has been the subject of television and radio dramatisations. In 2008, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' newspaper named Powell among their list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945."

Life

Powell was born in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Lionel William Powell (1882–1959), of the Welch Regiment, and Maud Mary (died 1954), daughter of Edmund Lionel Wells-

Dymoke The Dymoke family of the Manor of Scrivelsby in the parish of Horncastle in Lincolnshire holds the feudal hereditary office of King's Champion. The functions of the Champion are to ride into Westminster Hall at the (now defunct) coronation ...

, of The Grange,

East Molesey East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

, Surrey. Wells-

was a descendant of a land-owning family in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, hereditary Champions to monarchs since the reign of

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Jo ...

. They had married into the family of the Barons Marmion, who first held the position. The Powell family descended from ancient Welsh kings and chieftains. Anthony Powell had a strong interest in genealogy; he conducted extensive research into the Powell family over many years, establishing a paternal descent from Gwriad ap Elidyr — himself a descendant of

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman Britain, Ro ...

according to the

Genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 The genealogies from Jesus College MS 20 are a medieval Welsh collection of genealogies preserved in a single manuscript, Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Jesus College, MS 20, folios 33r–41r. It presents the lineages of a number of medie ...

and other sources — via

Rhys ap Gruffydd Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ...

to the satisfaction of the heralds of the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, who in 1964 granted him use of the ancient Powell arms. This pedigree was included in ''

Burke's Landed Gentry ''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cen ...

''. Because of his father's career and the First World War, the family moved several times, and mother and son sometimes lived apart from Powell's father. Powell attended Gibbs's pre-preparatory day-school for a brief time. He was then sent to New Beacon School near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

, which was popular with military families. Early in 1919, Powell passed the Common Entrance Examination for Eton, where he started that autumn. There, he befriended fellow pupil Henry Yorke, later to become known as novelist

Henry Green Henry Green was the pen name of Henry Vincent Yorke (29 October 1905 – 13 December 1973), an English writer best remembered for the novels ''Party Going'', ''Living (novel), Living,'' and ''Loving (novel), Loving''. He published a total of n ...

. At Eton, Powell spent much of his spare time at the Studio, where a sympathetic art master encouraged him to develop his talent as a draughtsman and his interest in the visual arts. In 1922, he became a founding member of the Eton Society of Arts. The society's members produced an occasional magazine called ''The Eton Candle''. In the autumn of 1923, Powell went up to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. Soon after his arrival, he was introduced to the Hypocrites' Club. Outside that club, he came to know Maurice Bowra, then a young don at

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

. During his third year, Powell lived out of college, sharing rooms with Henry Yorke. Powell travelled on the Continent during his holidays. He was awarded a third-class degree at the end of his academic years. Upon his arrival in London after Oxford, part of Powell's social life centred around attendance at formal debutante dances at houses in

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

and

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

. He renewed acquaintance with

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

, whom he had known at Oxford, and was a frequent guest for Sunday supper at Waugh's parents' house. Waugh introduced him to the Gargoyle Club, which gave him experience in London's Bohemia. He got to know painters

Nina Hamnett Nina Hamnett (14 February 1890 – 16 December 1956) was a Welsh artist and writer, and an expert on sailors' Sea shanty, shanties, who became known as the Queen of Bohemia. Early life Hamnett was born in the small coastal town of Tenb ...

and Adrian Daintrey, who were neighbours in

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia ( ) is a district of central London, England, near the West End. Its eastern part is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urbanised in ...

, and composer Constant Lambert, who remained a good friend until Lambert's death in 1951. In 1934, he married Lady Violet Pakenham. In 1952, they moved to The Chantry, a country home in Whatley, west of Frome, Somerset. Powell was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 1956 Birthday Honours, and in 1973, he declined an offer of knighthood. He was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 1988 New Year Honours. He served as a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery from 1962 to 1976. With Lady Violet, he travelled to the United States, India, Guatemala, Italy, and Greece. The individuals to whom Powell dedicated his books and memoirs provide the context of his range of friends and literary connections, including John Bayley, Robert Conquest,

Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid Major Sir Henry Joseph d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet, (10 June 1909 – 11 December 1976), sometimes known as Harry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, was a British Army officer, company director and politician. Early life, education and military career Th ...

Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and prior to h ...

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...

, Hugh Massingberd, Arthur Mizener, and Edith Sitwell. Powell's health declined in his later years after multiple strokes. On 28 March 2000, he died at The Chantry at the age of 94.

Work

Powell came to work in London during the autumn of 1926 and lived at various London addresses for the next 25 years. He worked in a form of apprenticeship at the publishers Gerald Duckworth and Company in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, where he brought out ''A Tower of Skulls: a Journey through Persia and Turkish Armenia'' by Gerald Reitlinger. Powell left Duckworth employ in 1936 after protracted negotiations about title, salary, and working hours. He next took a job as a

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

at the

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

studio in

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

, where he remained for six months. He made an abortive attempt to find employment in Hollywood as a screenwriter in 1937. He next found work reviewing novels for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and memoirs and autobiographies for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Powell, at age 34, joined the British Army as a second lieutenant, making him more than 10 years older than most of his fellow subalterns, not at all well prepared for military life, and lacking in experience. Powell joined the Welch Regiment and was stationed in Northern Ireland at the time of air raids in Belfast. His superiors found uses for his talents, resulting in a series of transfers that brought him to special training courses designed to produce a nucleus of officers to deal with the problems of military government after the Allies had defeated the Axis powers. He eventually secured an assignment with the Intelligence Corps and additional training. His military career continued with a posting to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, where he was attached to the section known as Military Intelligence (Liaison), overseeing relations with, and the basic material needs of, foreign troops in exile, specifically the Czechs, later the Belgians and Luxembourgers, and later still the French. Later for a short time he was posted to the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

, to serve on the Secretariat of the Joint Intelligence Committee, securing promotions along the way. For his service in the Army, he received two General Service medals as well as the 1944 France and Germany Star for escorting a group of Allied military attaches from Normandy to Montgomery's 21st Army Group Tactical HQ in November 1944 three miles from Roermond, Holland then held by the Germans. For representing the interests of foreign armies in exile as a liaison officer he received the following decorations: the Order of the White Lion (Czechoslovakia), Oaken Crown (Luxembourg), Order of Leopold II (Belgium), and Luxembourg War Cross (Croix de Guerre -Luxembourg). After his demobilisation at the end of the war, writing became his sole career. Despite a holiday trip to the Soviet Union in 1936, he remained unsympathetic to the popular-front, leftist politics of many of his literary and critical contemporaries. A confirmed

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

, Powell nonetheless maintained a certain scepticism towards the right as well, often associating with

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

and

Malcolm Muggeridge Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was a conservative British journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romford, i ...

. He was wary of right-wing groups and suspicious of inflated rhetoric. He organised George Orwell's funeral together with Muggeridge.

Family

Anthony Powell with Violet on their wedding day in 1934

Powell married Lady Violet Pakenham (1912–2002), sister of Lord Longford, on 1 December 1934 at All Saints, Ennismore Gardens,

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

. Powell and his wife moved to 1 Chester Gate in

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

, London, where they remained for 17 years. Their first son, Tristram, was born in April 1940, but Powell and his wife spent most of the war years apart while he served in the Welch Regiment and later in the Intelligence Corps. A second son, John, was born in January 1946. On 30 April 2018, Powell's granddaughter Georgia Powell married Henry Somerset, 12th Duke of Beaufort.

Writing

Powell's first novel, '' Afternoon Men'', was published by Duckworth in 1931, with Powell supervising its production himself. The same firm published his next three novels, ''Venusberg'' (1932), '' From a View to a Death'' (1933) and '' Agents and Patients'' (1936) two of them after Powell had left the firm. The cover design of these three were by Misha Black. During his time in California, Powell contributed several articles to the magazine ''Night and Day'', edited by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

. Powell wrote a few more occasional pieces for the magazine until it ceased publication in March 1938. Powell completed his fifth novel, '' What's Become of Waring'', in late 1938 or early 1939. After being turned down by Duckworth, it was published by Cassell in March of that year. The book sold fewer than a thousand copies. Anticipating the difficulties of creative writing during wartime, Powell began to assemble material for a biography of 17th-century writer

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He was a pioneer archaeologist, who recorded (often for the first time) numerous megalithic and other field monuments in southern England ...

. His army career, though, forced him to postpone even that biographical work. When the war ended, Powell resumed work on Aubrey, completing the manuscript of ''John Aubrey and His Friends'' in May 1946, though it only appeared in 1948 after difficult negotiations and arguments with publishers. He then edited a selection of Aubrey's writings that appeared the following year. Powell returned to novel writing, and began to ponder a long novel sequence. Over the next 30 years, he produced his major work: '' A Dance to the Music of Time''. The title of the multivolume series is taken from the painting of the same name by

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the Classicism, classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and ...

, which hangs in the

Wallace Collection The Wallace Collection is a museum in London occupying Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse (Great Britain), townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquess of Hertford, Marquesses of Hertford. It is named after Sir Richard Wall ...

. The cycle of novels, narrated by a protagonist with experiences and perspectives similar to Powell's own, follows the trajectory of the author's own life, offering a vivid portrayal of the intersection of bohemian life with high society between 1921 and 1971. Its characters, many modelled loosely on real people, surface, vanish, and reappear throughout the sequence but Powell claimed that it was not a ''

roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...

''. The characters are drawn from the upper classes, their marriages and affairs, and their bohemian acquaintances. Powell was awarded the 1957

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Un ...

for the fourth volume, ''At Lady Molly's''. The eleventh volume, ''Temporary Kings'', received the W. H. Smith Prize in 1974. In parallel with his creative writing, Powell served as the primary fiction reviewer for the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

''. He served as literary editor of '' Punch'' from 1953 to 1959. From 1958 to 1990, he was a regular reviewer for ''

'', resigning after a vitriolic personal attack on him by Auberon Waugh appeared in that newspaper. He also reviewed occasionally for ''

''. Many of Powell's book reviews were republished in two volumes of critical essays, ''Miscellaneous Verdicts'' (1990) and ''Under Review'' (1992). Between 1976 and 1982, Powell published four volumes of memoirs with the overall title of ''To Keep the Ball Rolling,'' followed by two more novels: ''O, How the Wheel Becomes It!'' (1983) and ''The Fisher King ''(1986). Several volumes of Powell's ''Journals'', covering 1982 to 1992, appeared between 1995 and 1997. His ''Writer's Notebook'' was published posthumously in 2001, and a third volume of critical essays, ''Some Poets, Artists, and a Reference for Mellors'', appeared in 2005. Alan Furst, an author of spy novels, has noted of him, "Powell does everything a novelist can do, from flights of aesthetic passion to romance to comedy high and low. His dialogue is extraordinary; often terse, pedestrian and perfect, each character using three or four words. Anthony Powell taught me to write; he has such brilliant control of the mechanics of the novel."

Collage

Powell created collages during his writing life. His greatest achievement, the collage in the Chantry, has been characterized as "a monstrous collage of a size and surrealistic disturbance." The collage took decades to create. It has been digitised and partially reproduced in ''Anthony Powell: Dancing to the Music of Time'' as endpapers. A 360-degree panorama is viewable at the website
Powell's "Boiler Room" Collage at The Chantry
In 2019, the Collage was photographed by Tim Beddow and featured on the cover of '' The World of Interiors'', a

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

magazine. In 2021 Christopher Matthew described it as "One of the most elaborate collages I have ever encountered covering not only the walls and the ceiling, but even the water pipes." In 2025, writing in ''Telegraph Luxury'' with many photos,

Harry Mount Henry Francis Mount (born 1971) is a British author and journalist, who is the editor of ''The Oldie'' magazine, and a frequent contributor to the ''Daily Mail'' and ''The Daily Telegraph''. Early life Harry Mount was born in 1971. His father, ...

observed, "the collage is a Sistine Chapel of literary Britain." Powell's great-granddaughter, Hope Coke, wrote an illustrated essay about the boiler room collage in

The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edit ...

Recognition

''Dance'' was adapted by Hugh Whitemore for a television miniseries during the autumn of 1997, and broadcast in the UK on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded entirely by its commerci ...

. The novel sequence was earlier adapted by Graham Gauld and Frederick Bradnum for a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

26-part series broadcast between 1978 and 1981. In the radio version, the part of Jenkins as narrator was played by Noel Johnson. A second radio dramatisation by Michael Butt was broadcast during April and May 2008. In 1984, Powell was awarded The Hudson Review's Bennett Award, to honour 'a writer of significant achievement whose work has not received the full recognition to which it is entitled' and the Ingersoll Foundation's T. S. Eliot Award for Creative Writing. In 1995, Powell was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) from the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

. In 2000 scholars founded The Anthony Powell Society to advance for the public benefit, education and interest in his life and works. The Society publishes quarterly ''The Anthony Powell Newsletter'' and the journal, ''Secret Harmonies.'' A centenary exhibition in commemoration of Powell's life and work was held at the Wallace Collection, London, from November 2005 to February 2006. Smaller exhibitions were held in 2005 and 2006 at Eton College,

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, the

Grolier Club The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, T ...

in New York City, and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in Washington, DC. Hilary Spurling, a newspaper colleague, had written at Powell's request in 1977 ''Invitation to the Dance: A Guide to Anthony Powell's Dance to the Music of Time'', and in 2017 published his biography, ''Anthony Powell: Dancing to the Music of Time''. A

Blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

was mounted on 16 September 2023 at 1 Chester Gate London NW1 where Powell began writing ''A Dance to the Music of Time''. The Anthony Powell Society organised the ceremony.Anthony Powell Blue Plaque,1 Chester Gate, London, NW1: Unveiling Ceremony.
Anthony Powell Society.

Bibliography

'' A Dance to the Music of Time''

#''

A Question of Upbringing A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'' (1951) #'' A Buyer's Market'' (1952) #'' The Acceptance World'' (1955) #'' At Lady Molly's'' (1957) #'' Casanova's Chinese Restaurant'' (1960) #'' The Kindly Ones'' (1962) #'' The Valley of Bones'' (1964) #'' The Soldier's Art'' (1966) #'' The Military Philosophers'' (1968) #'' Books Do Furnish a Room'' (1971) #'' Temporary Kings'' (1973) #'' Hearing Secret Harmonies'' (1975)

Standalone novels

*'' Afternoon Men'' (1931) *'' Venusberg'' (1932) *'' From a View to a Death'' (1933) *'' Agents and Patients'' (1936) *'' What's Become of Waring'' (1939) *''O, How the Wheel Becomes It!'' (1983) *''The Fisher King'' (1986)

Partial bibliography of other plays, and works

*''The Barnard Letters'' (1928) *"The Watr'y Glade", in ''The Old School: Essays by Divers Hands'', ed.

(1934) *''Novels of High Society from the Victorian Age''. Ed. and introduced by Anthony Powell. Pilot Press, 1947 *''John Aubrey and His Friends'' (1948) * ''Brief Lives and Other Selected Writings of John Aubrey''. Ed. Anthony Powell. Cresset Press, 1949 *''Two Plays: The Garden God, The Rest I'll Whistle'' (1971) * ''A Writer's Notebook'', 2001 * ''Miscellaneous Verdicts. Writings on Writers 1946-1989'', 1990 * ''Under Review. Further Writings on Writers 1946-1989'', 1991 * ''Some Poets, Artists & 'A Reference for Mellors, 2005 * ''The Acceptance of Absurdity.'' Anthony Powell & Robert Vanderbilt: Letters 1952 - 1963. Eds. John Saumarez Smith & Jonathan Kooperstein. Maggs Bros, 2011 * ''Anthony Powell on Wine''. Edited by Robin Bynoe. Anthony Powell Society, 2017 * ''King Arthur and Other Personages''. Edited by Robin Bynoe. Anthony Powell Society, 2019 Memoirs *''To Keep the Ball Rolling: Memoirs of Anthony Powell'' *''vol. 1, Infants of the Spring'' (1976) *''vol. 2, Messengers of Day'' (1978) *''vol. 3, Faces in My Time'' (1980) *''vol. 4, The Strangers All are Gone'' (1982) A one-volume abridgment, called simply ''To Keep the Ball Rolling'', was published in 1983. Diaries *''Journals 1982–1986'' (1995) *''Journals 1987–1989'' (1996) *''Journals 1990–1992'' (1997)

References

External links

* Anthony Powell Society * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Anthony 1905 births 2000 deaths 20th-century English diarists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English essayists Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II British collage artists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Intelligence Corps officers James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Modernist writers People educated at Eton College People educated at Gibbs School People from Mendip District Writers from Westminster Novelists from London Royal Artillery officers The Daily Telegraph people Welch Regiment officers George Orwell English people of Welsh descent Warner Bros. people