The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp

In his note to the 1920 edition of The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, W. H. Davies states that it was written ‘on the advice of friends who claimed my life of adventure would have an interest for the public’. They were not wrong. Starting with his early life in Wales, Davies documents how he was always restless as a child, having minor brushes with the local constabulary and often truanting from school. His restive demeanour continued into his youth, where he openly admits he was ‘running wild, taking no interest in my trade, and determined to throw off all restraint’. Acting upon impulse, Davies embarked for America and began a life that would take him the length and breadth of that country. With refreshing honesty Davies leaves little of this life to the imagination, offering detailed accounts of his American tramping, varying from the extraordinary honour of tramps who look down on the working man, to the winter months spent in prison to avoid the cold, to the weakness of spending any money he saved on excessive drinking sprees. However, after a tragic accident he returns to England with ambitions of becoming a published author. In a touchingly evocative narrative, Davies recounts his financial difficulties leading to his tramping of England trying to earn enough money to self-publish his work. The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp is a fascinating read, which takes the reader on an incredible journey through the life of a supremely talented, tragically flawed, yet undeniably unique man.