Four Years

In Short

This memoir captures a pivotal four-year span in the life of a seminal Irish writer. Moving from his family’s home in Bedford Park to the literary circles of London, the author details his encounters with mentors, rivals, and occultists, including W. E. Henley, Oscar Wilde, and William Morris. Through these recollections, he examines the tension between tradition and modernity, ultimately finding in the death of Charles Stewart Parnell the catalyst to return his focus to Ireland and the development of a national literary culture.

The Story

The narrative begins in the late 1880s at Bedford Park, a red-brick London enclave where the author lives with his family. Here, the air is thick with the waning influence of Pre-Raphaelite ideals and the rising skepticism of a new generation. The author quickly establishes his intellectual landscape: he feels alienated from the casual cynicism of his peers and is desperate for a poetry of "strongest passions" that rejects the cold, clinical observation of writers like Henley.

The author’s education proceeds through a series of vivid, often contradictory encounters. He sits at the feet of Henley, a crippled but fierce editor who demands devotion and holds court with a motley crew of aspiring writers. Despite their profound disagreements over politics and poetic form, the author respects Henley’s commanding presence. Simultaneously, he navigates the orbit of Oscar Wilde, whose carefully constructed "mask" of charm and calculated insolence fascinates the younger man. He also observes the eccentric circle of R. A. M. Stevenson, whose conversational brilliance he admires even while feeling personally distanced by Stevenson's preoccupation with "fantasy for fantasy's sake."

As the years progress, the author moves deeper into more arcane circles. He finds himself drawn to the Theosophical Society and the enigmatic Madame Blavatsky, whose unpredictable behavior and focus on the mind's hidden powers captivate him. His search for a deeper, more profound artistic truth leads him to the British Museum, where he studies magic and ancient manuscripts with the intense, impoverished Macgregor Mathers. Throughout these experiences, the author remains acutely aware of his own physical and social insecurities, contrasting his internal "desire for romance" with the "common daylight" of a London he finds increasingly corrupt and detached from the spiritual vitality he craves.

The arc of the book concludes with a shift in perspective. The author, having spent years analyzing the fragmentation of European art and the isolation of modern classes, realizes that the path forward lies not in the metropolitan centers of England, but in his home country. The death of the Irish political leader Parnell serves as a turning point. Recognizing that the political fervor of the youth has reached a temporary exhaustion, the author pivots to cultural work. He facilitates the founding of the Irish Literary Society in London and subsequently in Dublin, setting the stage for a new movement that would attempt to reconnect the artist to the popular lore and ancient stability he feels has been lost to the modern age.

How It Unfolds

The Bedford Park years The author settles into a London suburb, reflecting on the community's fading enthusiasm for the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic and the peculiar, village-like character of the neighborhood. He establishes his early rejection of the "common" and scientific influences of his time.

The school of Henley The author describes his mentorship under the abrasive, powerful W. E. Henley. He highlights their irreconcilable differences in taste—particularly his distaste for Henley’s "Vers Libre"—while acknowledging his profound growth under such a demanding leader.

The talkers and the masks The author weighs the performative brilliance of Oscar Wilde against the natural, flowing conversational style of R. A. M. Stevenson. He views these men as distinct types of personality, ultimately choosing a more private, romantic path for his own creative development.

The pull of the occult Seeking a deeper source for artistic imagery, the author joins the Theosophists and shadows the elusive Madame Blavatsky. He records his experiences with Macgregor Mathers and his peers, who treat magic and alchemical research with a deadly, quiet seriousness.

The return to the source The author reflects on the loss of Europe's "one mind and heart," tracing the decay of art from Chaucer to the present. He concludes that the fragmentation of modern life necessitates a return to Irish roots, finally launching the literary societies that will define his later career.

The People

W. E. Henley serves as the author’s primary foil—a man of immense, physical-seeming willpower who demands total loyalty from his followers. He represents the "actor of passion" who, despite his brilliance, alienates the author through his imperialist politics and disdain for the romantic. Conversely, Oscar Wilde is presented as an artist of the "mask," someone who lived a perpetually performative life to escape the untidy, imaginative reality of his Dublin upbringing.

R. A. M. Stevenson appears as the master of the monologue, a man whose charm is as natural as his hair color, yet one whom the author eventually views as belonging to the "indifferent world" of the old and the unambitious. Madame Blavatsky is the chaotic, brilliant heart of the occult circle, a woman who values the life of the mind above all else, even to the point of absurdity. Finally, Macgregor Mathers stands out as a figure of romantic tragedy—a brilliant, starving scholar of magic who, in his desperate attempt to master the "secret things," eventually loses his grip on reality. Each of these figures helps the author define what he is not, pushing him toward his own distinct, singular voice.

In Its Own Voice

"I wanted the strongest passions, passions that had nothing to do with observation, and metrical forms that seemed old enough to be sung by men half-asleep or riding upon a journey."

The author describes his aesthetic rebellion against the clinical, modern poetry favored by his peers.

"I thought that all art should be a Centaur finding in the popular lore its back and its strong legs."

Reflecting on his desire to synthesize ancient tradition with contemporary expression, the author uses this central metaphor for his evolving creative philosophy.

What It's Really About

The central argument concerns the "fragmentation" of the modern soul. The author posits that a once-unified European culture, characterized by common belief and shared symbols, has been shattered by the rise of scientific rationalism, industrialization, and class isolation. He questions whether an artist can achieve a "joyous energy" in a world dominated by materialism. His inquiry is specific: he is not merely lamenting the past, but searching for a way to use "popular lore" as a foundation for a new, stable art. He argues that the artist must look past the "common daylight" of the present to find deeper, more enduring images that can reconnect the fractured modern individual to a lost sense of collective humanity.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love the intersection of biography, cultural history, and the formation of a literary mind will find this a deeply rewarding, if sometimes dense, experience. The writing is precise and elegant, reflecting a period when authors were as much concerned with the "music" of their sentences as with the facts of their lives. It feels like an intimate, late-night conversation with a man who has lived through a sea change in human thought.

The book is not without its difficulties. The prose is often layered with the specific names of 19th-century figures, artists, and editors who may be unfamiliar to a modern reader, and the author’s preoccupation with occultism and theosophy requires a certain amount of patience for his sincere, un-ironic engagement with the esoteric. Additionally, the text bears the markers of its time, particularly in its casual references to class hierarchies and historical assumptions about women and social order. However, the reward for this engagement is an unparalleled view of the creative process. It stays with you because it treats the act of writing as a high-stakes, spiritual quest—a reminder that for the true artist, the development of a voice is never just a career, but a total engagement with the history and soul of one’s nation.