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Narrative feature

Dylan Thomas: boozer, womaniser, sponger, charlatan — or master craftsman?

An extract from Three Lives of Dylan Thomas by Hilly Janes, which recalls her father’s friendship with the poet

10 May 2014

9:00 AM

10 May 2014

9:00 AM

Who the hell was Dylan Thomas? Boozer, womaniser, sponger, charlatan — or master craftsman, besotted husband, generosity personified and one of the greatest literary talents of the 20th century? Or all of these? Fifty years ago (in November 1964) the writer Constantine Fitzgibbon grappled with these questions in The Spectator as he completed the first full-length biography of his friend the poet.

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The Three Lives of Dylan Thomas by Hilly Janes is published on 15 May by The Robson Press at £18.99 (Spectator Bookshop, £14.99).

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