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Born in 1887, Rupert Brooke experienced a comfortable childhood in a rarified atmosphere, living near--and then attending--the school Rugby, a famed British institution where his father worked as a housemaster. The boy soon grew into a man whose handsome figure transfixed admirers regardless of gender: almost six foot tall, he was academically clever, good at sports--he represented the school in cricket and, of course, rugby--and had a disarming character. He was also highly creative: Rupert wrote verse throughout his childhood, having allegedly gained a love of poetry from reading Browning.

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A move to King's College, Cambridge, in 1906 did nothing to dim his popularity--friends included E.M. Forster, Maynard Keynes and Virginia Stephens (later Woolf)--while he broadened into acting and socialism, becoming president of the University's branch of the Fabian Society. His studies in the classics may have suffered as a result, but Brooke moved in elite circles, including that of the famous Bloomsbury set. Moving outside Cambridge, Rupert Brooke lodged in Grantchester, where he worked on a thesis and created poems devoted to his ideal of English country life, many of which formed part of his first collection, simply entitled Poems 1911. In addition, he visited Germany, where he learned the language.

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Brooke's life now began to darken, as an engagement to one girl--Noel Olivier--was complicated by his affection for Ka (or Katherine) Cox, one of his fellows from the Fabian society. Friendships were soured by the troubled relationship and Brooke suffered something which has been described as a mental breakdown, causing him to travel restlessly through England, Germany and, on the advice of his Doctor who prescribed rest, Cannes. However, by September 1912 Brooke seemed to have recovered, finding companionship and patronage with an old Kings student called Edward Marsh, a civil servant with literary tastes and connections. Brooke completed his thesis and gained election to a fellowship at Cambridge whilst captivating a new social circle, whose members included Henry James, W.B. Yeats, Bernard Shaw, Cathleen Nesbitt--with whom he was particularly close--and Violet Asquith, daughter of the Prime Minister. He also campaigned in support of Poor Law reform, prompting admirers to propose a life in parliament.

In 1913 Rupert Brooke traveled again, first to the United States - where he wrote a series of dazzling letters and more formal articles - and then through islands down to New Zealand, finally pausing in Tahiti, where he wrote some of his more fondly acclaimed poetry. He also found more love, this time with a native Tahitian called Taatamata; however, a shortage of funds caused Brook to return to England in July 1914. War broke out a few weeks later.

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On February 27th, 1915 Brooke sailed for the Dardanelles, although problems with enemy mines led to a change of destination and a delay in deployment. Consequently, by March 28th Brooke was in Egypt, where he visited the pyramids, partook in the usual training, suffered sunstroke and contracted dysentery. His war sonnets were now becoming famous throughout Britain, and Brooke refused an offer from high command to leave his unit, recover, and serve away from the front lines.

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By April 10th Brook's ship was on the move again, anchoring off the island of Skyros on April 17th. Still suffering from his earlier ill-health, Rupert now developed blood poisoning from an insect bite, placing his body under fatal strain. He died in the afternoon of April 23rd, 1915, aboard a hospital ship in Tris Boukes Bay. His friends buried him under a stone cairn on Skyros later that day, although his mother arranged for a grander tomb after the war. A collection of Brooke's later work, 1914 and Other Poems, was published in swiftly after, in June 1915; it sold well.