 First edition | |
| Author | Rose Macaulay |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Set in | 1640s |
| Publisher | Collins |
Publication date | 1932 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 382 pp |
| OCLC | 223143700 |
They Were Defeated is a historical novel by Rose Macaulay, first published in 1932.[1] It was published in the USA under the title The Shadow Flies.[2] It was through the publication of the American edition that Macaulay got back in touch with her cousin, the Rev. John Hamilton Cowper Johnson, and thus began a correspondence that lasted until her death. The historian C V Wedgwood wrote the preface to a 1960 edition of the book, in which she reveals that the novel was written partly at the instigation of Macaulay's publisher, John Murray, who had asked for something to shed light on the background to her first novel, Abbots Verney (1906).
They Were Defeated is set in the 17th century, and the poets Robert Herrick, Sir John Suckling and John Cleveland are major characters. Other real historical characters who feature prominently are Abraham Cowley, Andrew Marvell and Henry More.