The Autobiography of a Super-tramp

The experiences of a young destitute Welshman in America and Britain. William Henry Davies was born in a pub and learnt early in life to rely on his wits and his fists-and to drink. Around the turn of the century, when he was twenty-two, his restless spirit of adventure led him to set off for America, and he worked around the country taking casual jobs where he could, thieving and begging where he couldn’t. His experiences were richly coloured by the bullies, tricksters, and fellow-adventurers he encountered-New Haven Baldy, Wee Shorty, The Indian Kid, and English Harry, to name but a few. He was thrown into prison in Michigan, beaten up in New Orleans, witnessed a lynching in Tennessee, and got drunk pretty well everywhere. A harrowing accident forced him to return to England and the seedy world of doss-houses and down-and-outs like Boozy Bob and Irish Tim. The pen of W. H. Davies, super-tramp and writer, reveals a fascinating picture of a vast, bustling continent intent on its own affairs and of a Britain on the cusp of change between old certainties and an uneasy future. When George Bernard Shaw first read the Autobiography in manuscript, he was stunned by the raw power of its unvarnished narrative. It was his enthusiasm, expressed in the Preface, that ensured the initial success of a book now regarded as a classic.