Olivia Shakespear and W.B. Yeats began their relationship as lovers, and remained close friends for nearly 45 years. A primary source of material for this book has been previously unpublished family papers relating to the Shakespear and Tucker families, augmented by 100 of Shakespear's surviving letters. Key episodes in Yeats's life are summarized in the narrative but the perspective differs from that of previous biographical studies of the poet. The author has given full summaries of Olivia Shakespear's novels, many of which are still unobtainable and details her relationship with her son-in-law Ezra Pound.