A Shropshire Lad

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.

What are those blue remembered hills,

What spires, what farms are those?

First published in 1896, A.E. Housman’s best-loved collection of poetry is a poignant exploration of love, loss, the inevitable passage of time and the fragility of life. Using elegant melodic simplicity, Housman’s poems arouse profound emotional resonance through their portrayal of an idyllic rural England, evoking a sense of nostalgia and longing for times gone by.

A Shropshire Lad became popular with young British soldiers during the First World War and is now widely considered a classic work of English poetry. With lyrical beauty and universal themes, these 63 poems have inspired generations of readers across the world.

Born in Worcestershire in 1859, Alfred Edward Housman was an English classicist and poet, most famous for his collection of sixty-three poems, A Shropshire Lad.