La fleur et le chardon: Wilfred Owen’s Franco-Scottish influences

Thus far studies of Owen have followed similar, well-trodden paths sharing Sassoon’s. influence. McLennan uses Geddes’ sociological model to re-examine Owen’s life and influences (see notes 1-3 below). This paper analyses “folk” (people) around Owen with specific Franco-Scottish connections via two cases studies. Francophile Patrick Geddes and his protégée Arthur John Brock, were initial instigators of Owen’s significant 1917 poetic writing. Secondly, Owen’s little discussed meetings with Albertina Marie Dauthieu, a Frenchwoman living in Scotland, provide fresh insightss to Owen’s life.