James Elroy Flecker

Born in Lewisham, London, on November 5, 1884, James Elroy Flecker grew up in an academic household and was educated at Uppingham School and Trinity College, Oxford. He wrote poetry, plays, and fiction, and his work is often linked to the influence of the Parnassian poets, with its careful style and strong feeling for beauty.

Flecker also served in the British consular service, and time spent in places such as the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East helped shape the atmosphere of his writing. That sense of distance and imagined travel runs through some of his best-known work, especially “The Golden Journey to Samarkand,” which has kept his name alive with generations of readers.

His life was short: he died in Davos, Switzerland, on January 3, 1915, at the age of 30. Even so, he left behind a body of work admired for its lyric grace, rich imagery, and romantic imagination, with Hassan remaining one of his most famous achievements.