Siegfried Sassoon

About

British poet, author, and World War I soldier who is best known for War Poems (published in 1919) and The Road to Ruin (published in 1933).

Before Fame

He grew up in Kent, England, as one of three sons born to a Catholic mother and a Jewish father.

Trivia

He was an important literary mentor to author Wilfred Owen.

Family Life

His male lovers included Gabriel Atkin (an artist) and Ivor Novello (an actor). He was also briefly married to Hester Gatty, with whom he had his only child.

Associated With

His mother named him Siegfried after an opera by German composer Richard Wagner.