Alfred Noyes was born September 16, 1880 at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England to Alfred Noyes and Amelia Adams, née Rowley. He entered Exeter College in 1898 with the intention of taking a degree in English. Rather than complete his final examinations, Noyes opted to keep an appointment with London publisher Grant Richards. The meeting resulted in the publication of his first book of poems, The Loom of Years (1902). Several more volumes of poetry soon followed. Noyes composed his verse in a style consciously descended from Tennyson and the romantic poets and was a staunch opponent of what he deemed "modernism" in literature.

In 1907, Noyes married Garnett Upham, née Daniels, the daughter of American consul Colonel Byron Gordon Daniels. Strengthening his ties to America, in 1911 Noyes began a lecture tour of the U.S. that included delivery of the Lowell Lecture at Harvard University (1913) and resulted in his being appointed Murray professor of English literature at Princeton University (1914-1923). This tenure was interrupted by the First World War. Rejected from military service because of poor eyesight, Noyes began work in the newsroom of the British Foreign Office in 1916. Shortly thereafter, he was shown the incriminating diaries of former British diplomat Roger Casement, who was convicted of treason for his involvement in the 1916 Easter Rising. Although Noyes believed the diaries to be authentic at the time, he later changed his opinion and worked for Casement's vindication as late as 1957 when he published The Accusing Ghost of Roger Casement.

In 1926, Noyes's wife died. The following year, he joined the Roman Catholic Church. Noyes maintained that his conversion was motivated not by apologists but primarily by nineteenth century agnostics, as reflected in The Unknown God (1934) and his controversial biography Voltaire (1936). In September of 1927, Noyes married Mary Angela Mayne, widow of Richard Weld-Blundell and member of an old Catholic family. In 1929, they settled on the Isle of Wight. Their home there would be the inspiration for the popular Orchard's Bay (1939).

In 1940-1941, Noyes and his family moved to America and Canada, where he lectured and promoted cooperation between the U.S. and Great Britain. His eyesight had continued to deteriorate, and a devastating surgery for glaucoma in the mid-1940's left him unable to read. Noyes remained in California for some time before returning to the Isle of Wight in 1949.

Throughout his career, Noyes garnered popular acclaim for his lectures and public readings, received honorary doctorates from Yale, Glasgow, Berkeley and Syracuse, was involved in two public controversies and was named a Commander of the British Empire (1918). Best known for his poem "The Highwayman," Alfred Noyes was a leading man of letters who produced works of poetry and criticism, fiction (including short stories and novels), non-fiction, essays, plays and lectures. His works were adapted for the screen, the stage, and set to music. He died on June 28, 1958.

Sources:

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "Alfred Noyes" https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/35266 Accessed 18 August 2008.

Noyes, Alfred. Two Worlds for Memory. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1953.