One of the most influential figures of the twentieth century, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) is among the greatest poets to have written in the English language. He was a multi-talented writer, fascinated by the occult, an important dramatist, critic and autobiographer, with a career extending over more than fifty years. Professor Jeffares investigates the relationship between Yeats's life and his work. He considers the crucial moments as well as the famous relationships that changed Yeats's destiny. A founder of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Yeats was also a Senator of the Irish Free State. His life has provided a remarkably rich and varied canvas for this timeless biography.

Alexander Norman Jeffares, AM (August 11, 1920 – June 1, 2005) was an Irish literary scholar.

Jeffares was born in Dublin, educated at Dublin High School, Trinity College, Dublin and Oriel College, Oxford. He took up his first academic appointment at the Department of English at the University of Groningen in 1947 and then moved to the University of Edinburgh in 1948. At the very early age of 30 he was then appointed to the Jury Chair of English at the University of Adelaide where he stayed for 17 years. He then returned to the Chair of English at the University of Leeds before finally moving to the University of Stirling in 1974.

He retired as Emeritus Professor of English in 1985.

On Australia Day 1988, Jeffares was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia, "for service to the study of Australian literature overseas".