Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard nearing, Gray questioned if his own life would enter into a sort of rebirth cycle or, should he die, if there would be anyone to remember him. Gray's meditations during spring 1750 turned to how individuals' reputations would survive. Eventually, Gray remembered some lines of poetry that he composed in 1742 following the death of West, a poet he knew. Using that previous material, he began to compose a poem that would serve as an answer to the various questions he was pondering. On 3 June 1750, Gray moved to Stoke Poges, and on 12 June he completed "Elegy Written
How Many Miles to Babylon? (novel) and careful description" to depict the chaotic environment created by war. The novel also includes small abstracts from poetry and songs. The title of the novel is derived from a traditional nursery Rhyme, How Many Miles to Babylon?: <poem> </poem> When re-reviewing the novel in 2011, Philip Womack described the novel as "slim but emotionally hefty." For Womack, it's a poignant retelling of how the First World War erased lines of class, and its emotional toil: "Johnston's novel conveys both the insanity of war and the poignancy of unspoken tenderness." In 1982 it was adapted for television by the BBC,