1913 Everlasting Mercy + Bye Street by John Masefield Antique Fiction Book

The Everlasting Mercy tells the story of Saul Kane, a violent, hard-drinking rural labourer whose disordered life is transformed through spiritual awakening and redemption. Written in vigorous colloquial verse, the poem caused a considerable sensation upon its first appearance in 1911, combining the speech and hardships of country life with themes of sin, suffering, grace and renewal. Its rapid succession of impressions—ten within little more than a year—demonstrates the extraordinary contemporary response to the work.

First published in 1912, The Widow in the Bye Street is a darker narrative poem centred upon a widowed mother and her beloved son, Jim. A disastrous infatuation draws the young man into jealousy, violence and tragedy, leaving his mother to endure the consequences. Masefield's direct language, strong narrative rhythm and sympathetic portrayal of ordinary rural people give the poem much of its emotional force, while its treatment of desire, social hardship and irrevocable loss places it among his most powerful early works.