Raymond Williams

Raymond Williams was brought up the son of a railwayman on the border between England and Wales. He died in 1988 at the age of 66 as an almost folk hero. He was a dedicated socialist, a thinker and novelist with an absolute and generous-hearted commitment to turning the work of a scholar and intellectual to the good of all people. In this first biography of Raymond Williams, Fred Inglis traces Williams' extraordinary rise and influence. Inglis relates more than the story of Williams' private life, he makes it clear how this remarkable man made his work out of his life. The book, written by somebody who knew Williams personally and shared in many of the events chronicled within, is a strong and gripping narrative. It is entirely original, containing the narratives of some seventy people who knew Williams and material from the archives and personal records of the family. Raymond Williams: His Life and Times is an invaluable read for all who knew or admired the work of Williams, and an important guide to the momentous changes and commotions of British history in the twentieth century.