Confessions of Two Brothers by John Cowper Powys and Llewelyn Powys (1916)

These two efforts are quite different. John Cowper's reflects his inward obsession, his deeply enquiring mind, his fascination with revealing some aspects of the hidden animal within, and his burlesquings around the edges of others. It is powerfully argued for all its evasions and occasional inconsistencies, and worthy of considerable notice as a self-critical investigation of personal philosophy. Llewelyn's is typical of him. It reveals the strange islanded temper of the man: "most of you are blunt and lacking in vision and worthy only of contempt; I am somewhat insulted by having to deal with you," is the best summing up. He felt a kind of proprietary fervour when it came to passion, earthiness and truth which is quite off-putting, and particularly so when a species of blindness can be detected in it. It is a record, in the first instance, of a young teacher putting up with stupidity all around him in various temporary posts. It then hits deeper territory as a record of illness; his consumption hits and gathers pace. There are moments of poetry here. John Cowper was the more eccentric, sparking intelligence of the two. Llewelyn had a diffidence which didn't serve him well.