You Come Too

Robert Frost observed in his wife, Elinor, a desire to live ""a life that goes rather poetically."" The same could be said of many members of the Frost family, over several generations. In You Come Too, Frosts granddaughter, Lesley Lee Francis, combines priceless personal memories and rigorous research to create a portrait of Frost and the women, including herself, whose lives he touched. Francis provides a vivid picture of Frost the family man, revealing him to be intensely engaged rather than the aloof artist that is commonly portrayed. She shares with us the devastation Frost and Elinor experienced when faced with tragic illnesses, both physical and mental, and the untimely death of family members. Elinors own death added to the poets despair and unleashed complex feelings throughout the family (Franciss mother would lament the toll taken on Elinor by what she perceived as Frosts ""selfishness"" in the life he had chosen). This is also the story of Lesley Frost, Franciss remarkable mother, who struggled to emerge from her celebrated fathers shadow, while, as one of the people closest to him, sharing his intuitive impulse to write and to indulge their mutual love of books and poetry. Francis would herself become yet another writer and, like her grandfather and mother before her, a teacher--despite sharing Frosts sense of being ""imperfectly academic."" In addition, Francis explores Frosts professional relationships with women outside the family, such as the poets Harriet Monroe, Amy Lowell, and Susan Hayes Ward.Franciss invaluable insights into Frosts poetry and her inclusion of previously unpublished family writings and photographs make this book essential to Frost scholarship. But You Come Too will appeal to anyone interested in this great poets life and work. It also reveals unforgettable stories of strong, independent women and their passion to create and share poetry.