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A long-lost notebook once owned by Dylan Thomas which includes drafts of some of his key poems has been rediscovered and put up for sale at Sotheby's auction house in London. Courtesy: Sotheby's
A label attached to the workbook explains that it was given to Louie King, housemaid to Thomas's mother-in-law, with the instruction to burn it after the poet left it behind on a visit in the 1930s. King writes that she "saved it and forgot all about it until I read of his death" in 1953. Courtesy: Sotheby's
A letter from Thomas, which accompanies the notebook, explains how much he disliked spending time with his wife's family in in southern England: "This flat English country levels the intelligence, planes down the imagination ... I sit and hate my mother-in-law, glowering at her from corners and grumbling about her in the sad, sticky, quiet of the lavatory." Courtesy: Sotheby's
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, south Wales, in October 1914 -- his centenary is being celebrated with a series of special events in his hometown and around the world. Hulton Archive/Getty Images/FILE
He is best known for his "play for voices," Under Milk Wood, and poems including Fern Hill and Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. Express/Express/Getty Images/FILE
Thomas was known for his hard-drinking lifestyle. He collapsed at New York's Chelsea Hotel shortly after reportedly announcing: "I've had 18 straight whiskies. I think that's the record!" He died in hospital several days later. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
His body was brought back to Laugharne, the south Wales village which had inspired many of his most famous works, and he was buried in the local churchyard (pictured in 1969). Allan De Vries/BIPs/Getty Images/FILE
Dylan's home, the Boathouse at Laugharne (seen here in 1969), is now a museum dedicated to his life and work. Allan De Vries/BIPs/Getty Image/FILE
