What W.H. Auden can do for you / Alexander McCall Smith

Love illuminates again ... -- Who was he? -- A discovery of Auden -- Choice and quest -- The poet as voyager -- Politics and sex -- If I could tell you I would let you know -- What Freud meant -- A vision of agape -- That we may have dreams and visions -- And then there is nature -- Auden as a guide to the living of one's life.

When facing a moral dilemma, Isabel Dalhousie -- Edinburgh philosopher, amateur detective, and title character of a series of novels by best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith -- often refers to the great twentieth-century poet W. H. Auden. This is no accident: McCall Smith has long been fascinated by Auden. Indeed, the novelist, best known for his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, calls the poet not only the greatest literary discovery of his life but also the best of guides on how to live. In this book, McCall Smith has written a charming personal account about what Auden has done for him and what he just might do for you.