During his lifetime Richard Aldington was praised for his poetry, novels, biographies, criticism, translations, and essays. He is also credited with being one of the founders of the Imagist movement in poetry, which began in 1912. Each of his eleven biographies reflects not only Aldington's dedication to his writing but also his intense interest in his subjects. Several of the biographies, especially those on D. H. Lawrence and Voltaire, remain important. Just prior to his death in 1962, Aldington's popularity waned; the 1980s saw the beginning of a reappraisal of his work that has continued into the 1990s.

Edward Godfrey Aldington (he adopted the name Richard during his boyhood) was born in Portsmouth, England, on 8 July 1892. He was the first of four children born to Albert Edward Aldington, a solicitor, and Jessie May Godfrey Aldington, later an amateur novelist. He was exposed to literature early through books in his father's...