There are two kinds of Englishmen--those who stay at home and those who go abroad. Douglas was one of the latter.

He was born in 1868, mid-Victorian, and received a classical education. To a lad of spirit and imagination, England was no place to stay.

So he shipped to Italy and there remained, steeped in the land and tradition, 100 years ahead of his time. In books such as SIREN LAND, he wrote of the timeless things that come to us from antiquity. His books are erudite and humane, rather like a seminar with a favorite professor.

But not dry! Douglas was a confirmed hedonist, and he milked the sensual pleasures for all they were worth. By 1952, the year in which he died he had his fill. Not suprisingly, he killed himself.