T. F. Powys was a man who rarely left home or travelled in a car, who claimed to love monotony, and who 'never gave so much as a sunflower-seed for the busy, practical life' .

He ran his own farm, White House Farm at Sweffling, Suffolk (1895 -1901), before "retiring" to Dorset, determined to write. In 1904, he settled in East Chaldon, 'the most hidden village in Dorset', and there he remained until 1940, when the war drove him inland to Mappowder. In 1905, he married Violet Rosalie Dodds, a local girl; they had two sons and an adopted daughter.

Powys's unorthodox version of Christianity reveals strands of mysticism, quietism, and pantheism, but the major influence upon him was the Bible, and he claimed that Religion 'is the only subject I know anything about'. Sometimes savage, often lyrical, his novels and stories explore universal themes of Love, Death, Good and Evil within the microcosm of the rural world. In spite of the apparent realism of his settings, Powys is a symbolist and allegorist. Major works include The Soliloquy of a Hermit, Mr Weston's Good Wine, and Unclay; his Fables and short stories are also much admired.

Mr Weston’s Good Wine will be reissued as a Vintage Classic later this year.