Henry Treece (22 December 1911 – 10 June 1966) was a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and writer who also worked as a teacher and editor. He wrote a range of works but is mostly remembered as a writer of children's

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

Life and work

Treece was born in

Wednesbury Wednesbury ( ) is a market town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England; it was historically in Staffordshire. It is located near the source of the River Tame, West Midlands, River Tame and ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, and educated at the town's

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

. After graduating from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

in 1933, he went into teaching with his first placement being at Tynemouth School. In 1939 he married Mary Woodman and settled 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 ...

as a teacher at Barton-upon-Humber Grammar School. Their son, Richard Treece, became a musician with Help Yourself and other rock bands. He published five volumes of poetry: ''38 Poems'' (London: Fortune Press, 1940), then by Faber & Faber; ''Invitation and Warning'' 1942; ''The Black Seasons'' 1945; ''The Haunted Garden'' 1947; and ''The Exiles'' 1952. He appeared in the 1949 ''The New British Poets: an anthology'' edited by Kenneth Rexroth; but from 1952 with ''The Dark Island'' he devoted himself to fiction. His best known are his juvenile historical novels, particularly those set in the

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

, although he also wrote some adult historical novels. Many of his novels are set in transitional periods in history, where more primitive societies are forced to face modernisation, e.g. the end of the Viking period, or the Roman conquest of Britain. His play ''Carnival King'' (Faber & Faber) was produced at Nottingham Playhouse in 1953. He also worked as a radio broadcaster. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served as an intelligence officer in the RAF and helped John Pudney edit ''Air Force Poetry''. Other poetry anthologies he was involved with include ''The New Apocalypse'' (1939) with J. F. Hendry giving its name to the New Apocalyptics movement; two further anthologies with Hendry followed. He wrote a critical study of

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

, called ''Dylan Thomas – Dog among the fairies'', published by Lindsay Drummond, London, in 1949. He and Thomas became estranged over Thomas's refusal to sign up as a New Apocalyptic. He also wrote ''Conquerors'' in 1932, as a way to reflect on the horrors of war. He edited issues of the magazines ''Transformation'', and ''A New Romantic Anthology'' (1949) with Stefan Schimanski, issues of ''Kingdom Come: The Magazine of War-Time Oxford'' with Schimanski and Alan Rook, as well as ''War-Time Harvest''. ''How I See Apocalypse'' (London, Lindsay Drummond, 1946) was a retrospective statement. Treece died from a heart attack in 1966. Treece's residency in Barton-upon-Humber is recorded by a blue plaque on East Acridge House, erected by the Civic Society in 2010.

Works

*''38 Poems'' (Fortune Press, 1940) *''The White Horseman: Prose and Verse of the New Apocalypse'', edited by J. F. Hendry and Henry Treece (Routledge, 1941) *''Invitation and Warning'' (Faber, 1942) poetry *''Transformation'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1943) *''Wartime Harvest: an anthology of prose and verse'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (John Bale and Staples, 1943) *Short piece in ''Writing Today'', edited by Denys Val Baker and Peter Ratazzi (Staples, 1943) *''Air Force Poetry'', edited by John Pudney and Henry Treece (John Lane, 1944) *''Herbert Read: an introduction to his work by various hands'', edited by Henry Treece (Faber, 1944) *''A Map of Hearts'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1944) *''Transformation 2'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1944) *''The Black Seasons'' (Faber, 1945) poetry *''The Crown and the Sickle: An Anthology'' edited by J. F. Hendry and Henry Treece (Staples, 1945) *''Transformation 3'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1945) *''How I See Apocalypse'' (Lindsay Drummond, 1946) *''I Cannot go Hunting Tomorrow'' (The Grey Walls Press, 1946) short stories *''Transformation 4'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1946) *''The Haunted Garden'' (Faber, 1947) poetry *''Leaves in the Storm: a book of diaries'', edited with a running commentary by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (Lindsay Drummond, 1947) *''Selected Poems of

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

'', edited with an introduction by Henry Treece (The Grey Walls Press, 1948) *''Dylan Thomas: Dog among the fairies'' (Ernest Benn, 1949) criticism *''A New Romantic Anthology'', edited by Stefan Schimanski and Henry Treece (The Grey Walls Press, 1949) *''The Exiles'' (Faber, 1952) poetry *''The Dark Island'' (Gollancz, 1952) novel *''The Rebels'' (Gollancz, 1953) novel *''Desperate Journey'' (Faber, 1954) for children *''Legions of the Eagle'' (The Bodley Head, 1954) historical novel for young people, set in the Roman conquest of Britain *''The Eagles Have Flown'' (The Bodley Head, 1954) historical novel for young people *''Ask for King Billy'' (Faber, 1955) for children *''Carnival King: A play in Three Acts'' (Faber, 1955) verse play *''Viking's Dawn'' (The Bodley Head, 1955) historical novel for young people, first in the Viking Trilogy *''Hounds of the King'' (The Bodley Head, 1955) historical novel for young people *''The Golden Strangers'' (The Bodley Head, 1956), set in prehistoric Britain *''The Great Captains'' (The Bodley Head, 1956) novel *''Hunter Hunted'' (Faber, 1957) for children *''Men of the Hills'' (The Bodley Head, 1957) historical novel for young people *''The Road to Miklagard'' (The Bodley Head, 1957) historical novel for young people, second in the Viking Trilogy *'' The Children's Crusade'' (The Bodley Head, 1958) historical novel for young people *''Don't Expect Any Mercy'' (Faber, 1958) for children *''The Return of Robinson Crusoe'' (Hulton Press - An Eagle Novel, 1958) historical novel for young people *''Red Queen, White Queen'' (The Bodley Head, 1958) novel *''Ride into Danger'' (Criterion Books, USA, 1959) novel *''The Master of Badger's Hall'' (Random House, USA, 1959) *''The Bombard'' (The Bodley Head, 1959) historical novel for young people *''Castles and Kings'' (Batsford, 1959) *''The True Books about Castles'' (Frederick Muller, 1959) *''Wickham and the Armada'' (Hulton Press - An Eagle Novel, 1959) historical novel for young people *''A Fighting Man'' (The Bodley Head, 1960) novel *''Viking's Sunset'' (The Bodley Head, 1960) historical novel for young people, third in the Viking Trilogy *''Red Settlement'' (The Bodley Head - Earlham Library, 1960) historical novel for young people *''The Golden One'' (The Bodley Head, 1961) historical novel for young people *''The Jet Beads'' (Brockhampton Press, 1961) novel *''Jason'' (The Bodley Head, 1961) novel *''The Crusades'' (The Bodley Head, 1962) *''Man with a Sword'' (The Bodley Head, 1962) historical novel for young people, about

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Old English pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/ , modern English pronunciation / ) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resistance to the Norman Conquest of E ...

*''War Dog'' (Brockhampton Press, 1962) historical novel for young people *''Fighting Men: how men have fought through the ages'' (with Ronald Ewart Oakeshott) (Brockhampton Press, 1963) *''Horned Helmet'' (Brockhampton Press, 1963) historical novel for young people, about the

Jomsvikings The Jomsvikings were a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would allegedly fight for any lord who could pay t ...

*''Electra'' (The Bodley Head, 1963) novel *''The Crusades'' (Blackie - Know About Series, 1963) history *''The Burning of Njal'' (The Bodley Head, 1964) historical novel for young people *''The Last of the Vikings'' (Brockhampton Press, 1964) historical novel for young people, about

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' in the sagas, was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. He unsuccessfully claimed the Monarchy of Denma ...

*''

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

'' (The Bodley Head, 1964) novel *''The Bronze Sword'' (Hamish Hamilton - Antelope Books, 1965) historical novel for young people *''Splintered Sword'' (Brockhampton Press, 1965) historical novel for young people *''Killer in Dark Glasses'' (Faber, 1965) novel *''Two Radio Plays'' (accompanying a new edition of ''Hounds of the King'' - Longmans, 1965) *''Bang You're Dead!'' (Faber, 1966) novel *''The Queen's Brooch'' (Hamish Hamilton, 1966) historical novel for young people, set during

Boudicca Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as , ) was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed up ...

's rebellion *''The Green Man'' (The Bodley Head, 1966) *''Swords from the North'' (Faber, 1966) historical novel for young people *''The Windswept City'' (Hamish Hamilton - Reindeer Books, 1967) historical novel for young people, set in the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

*'' Vinland the Good'' (The Bodley Head, 1967) historical novel for young people *''The Dream Time'' (Brockhampton Press, 1967) historical novel for young people *''The Centurion'' (Meredith Press, 1967) an 'augmented' version of ''The Bronze Sword'' (1965)

Adult historical fiction

*Celtic Tetralogy (ordered by chronological setting) **1) ''The Golden Strangers'' (1956); (titled ''The Invaders'' in the U.S.), about the arrival of the Celts in Britain **2) ''The Dark Island'' (1952); (titled ''The Savage Warriors'' in the U.S.), about the defeat of

Caratacus Caratacus was a 1st-century AD British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who resisted the Roman conquest of Britain. Before the Roman invasion, Caratacus is associated with the expansion of his tribe's territory. His apparent success led ...

by the Romans after their invasion of Britain **3) ''Red Queen, White Queen'' (1958); (titled ''The Pagan Queen'' in the U.S.), about

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, from Brittonic languages, Brythonic * 'victory, win' + * 'having' suffix, i.e. 'Victorious Woman', known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh language, Welsh as , ) was a queen of the Iceni, ancient ...

and the rebellion she led against Rome, as told through the eyes of a young Roman Imperial agent **4) ''The Great Captains'' (1956), a realistic story of King Arthur and the struggle of Celtic Britain to survive after the departure of the Romans * ''The Rebels'' (1953). Set during the last decade of Victoria's reign, it follows the fluctuating fortunes of the Fisher family, ironmasters who live in the Black Country town of Darlaston. Their ancestors were strong, tough and unpretentious, but now the family aspires to comfortable Victorian gentility. *Trilogy set in Mycenaean Greece, based on legendary characters: **''Jason'' (1961) **''Electra'' (also spelt ''Elektra'' for some editions) – US title ''The Amber Princess'' (1963) **''Oedipus'' – US title ''The Eagle King'' (1964) * ''The Green Man'' (1966) A reworking of ''Amleth's Vengeance'' from the

Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essentia ...

of Saxo Grammaticus (the basis for Shakespeare's tragedy, ''Hamlet''). Set in 6th century Jutland (Denmark), Duke Arthur's Britain and Caledonia (Scotland). Contains fantasy elements.

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (25 July 1948 – 24 February 2024) was a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who published a hundred novels and over a hundred volumes of translations. His earlier books were published under the name Br ...

,"Green Man, The" in Frank N. Magill, ed. ''Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature'', Vol 2. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. (pp. 666-669).

Journal

*'' New Apocalyptics'' a periodical (edited with J. F. Hendry)

References

External links

* * *
Savoy People- Henry Treece
A short biography which includes links to further information about Treece's ''Celtic Tetralogy'' and t

collected comments by Treece on his philosophy of writing
Henry Treece and the New Apocalypse: A Study of English Neo-Romanticism
by Jo-Ann Baggerly. PhD thesis submitted to the Texas Tech University (1973)
Author Appreciation: Henry Treece
Article by Deanne Sole, posted at ''Pop Matters'', 17 August 2007.

(1962) {{DEFAULTSORT:Treece, Henry 1911 births 1966 deaths Royal Air Force officers Military personnel from the West Midlands (county) 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets Alumni of the University of Birmingham British male dramatists and playwrights British male poets English fantasy writers English historical novelists English male novelists English male short story writers English short story writers People from Wednesbury Place of death missing People educated at Wednesfield Grammar School People from Barton-upon-Humber Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Writers of fiction set in prehistoric times Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages