David Thomson was the author of the classic memoir Woodbrook (1976). He was a Scotsman who became an honorary Irishman, writer, folklorist and radio producer. He was described by his friend Seamus Heany as having a 'delicate wildness'. Julian Vignoles' biography describes a talented man who shirked the literati and drank with the London homeless.

With over fifty unseen photographs, this biography speaks to the writer's 'delicate wildness' (Seamus Heaney's phrase) and to the contradictions and passions of a singular man.