No. 36 in the first series of ‘Ariel Poems’ published by Faber between 1927 and 1931 was this poem ‘Jane Barston 1719-1746’ by Edith Sitwell dedicated to Siegfried Sassoon and with this startling image by R.A.Davies. Sitwell (1887-1964) had been a close friend of Sassoon since 1918 and valued greatly his support for her work.
‘Jane Barston 1719-1746’ is a dark, powerful poem from the moment of reading its tombstone feeling title. It tells the story of a ruined woman and her dead child. It is a poem with an overwhelming sense of cold as this extract from the end of the poem shows.
The Solitary Reader 