Rupert Brooke and Skyros

The quintessential English poet of the early twentieth century, Rupert Brooke wrote both his own poetry and translations of great writers such as Goethe, Homer, and Dante. Brooke was at the height of his poetic powers during World War I when he volunteered for military service in Flanders. His last lines are among the most famous in English literature: "If I should die think only this of me:/ That there's some corner of a foreign field/ That is forever England." Stanley Casson was a British journalist, biographer and broadcaster. He was the author of more than thirty books and the editor-in-chief of several newspapers and magazines. Casson became famous in 1923 when he set up the English School at Athens to teach young Greeks about England. He became friends with Rupert Brooke, who lived nearby in Skyros, and his wife Sophie de Marbois-Lebrun. They were frequent visitors to their home in Athens. In 1915 Rupert Brooke died from blood poisoning contracted while shaving. Stanley Casson wrote about his life in two books: Rupert Brooke: A Biography and The Death of a Hero.