Henry Treece (22 December 1911 — 10 June 1966) was a British poet and writer, who worked also as a teacher, and editor. He is perhaps best remembered now as a historical novelist, particularly as a children's historical novelist, although he also wrote some adult historical novels.
His five volumes of poetry were: 38 Poems (London: Fortune Press, [1940]), then by Faber & Faber; Invitation and Warning 1942; The Black Seasons 1945; The Haunted Garden 1947; and The Exiles 1952. He appeared in the 1949 The New British Poets: an anthology edited by Kenneth Rexroth; but from 1952 with The Dark Island he devoted himself to fiction. Representative of his children's books are the trilogy Viking's Dawn, The Road to Miklagard and Viking's Sunset. He also wrote the children's book War Dog. His play Carnival King (Faber & Faber) was produced at Nottingham Playhouse in 1953. He also worked as a radio broadcaster. His historical novels set in Mycenaean Greece are reminiscent of Mary Renault.
Treece was born in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, and graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1933. He went into teaching, first at Tynemouth School. In 1939 he married Mary Woodman and settled in Lincolnshire as a teacher at Barton upon Humber Grammar School (there is a house at "Bereton", now "Baysgarth" school named after him). Their son, Richard Treece, became a musician with Help Yourself and other rock bands.
In World War II he served as an intelligence officer in the RAF and helped John Pudney edit Air Force Poetry.
Other poetry anthologies he was involved with include The New Apocalypse (1939) with J. F. Hendry giving its name to a movement; two further anthologies with Hendry followed. He wrote a critical study of Dylan Thomas, called Dylan Thomas - Dog among the fairies published by Lindsay Drummond, London in 1949. He and Thomas became estranged over Thomas's refusal to sign up as a New Apocalyptic.
He also wrote Conquerors in 1932, as a way to reflect on the horrors of war.
He edited issues of Transformation, and A New Romantic Anthology (1949) with Stefan Schimanski, issues of Kingdom Come: The Magazine of War-Time Oxford with Schimanski and Alan Rook, as well as War-Time Harvest. How I See Apocalypse (London, Lindsay Drummond, 1946) was a retrospective statement.
Celtic Tetralogy (Iordered by chronological setting)
1) The Golden Strangers (1956); titled The Invaders in the U.S.), about the arrival of the Celts in Britain
2) The Dark Island (1952); titled The Savage Warriors in the U.S.), about the defeat of Caratacus by the Romans after their invasion of Britain
3) Red Queen, White Queen (1958); titled The Pagan Queen in the U.S.), about Boudica and the rebellion she led against Rome, as told by a young Roman Imperial agent
4) The Great Captains (1956), a realistic story of King Arthur and the struggle of Celtic Britain to survive after the departure of the Romans
Trilogy set in Mycenaean Greece, based on legendary characters
Jason (1961)
Electra (also spelt Elektra for some editions)- US title The Amber Princess (1963)
Oedipus --US title The Eagle King (1964)
The Green Man (1966) A reworking of "Amleth's Vengeance" from the "Gesta Danorum" of Saxo Grammaticus (the basis for Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet). Set in 6th century Jutland, Duke Arthur's Britain and Scotland.
