 Manning was never the most robust of individuals, neither was his lifestyle particularly healthy.Despite his asthma, he became a heavy smoker, and he seems to have sought escape from his loneliness in the local public houses.In the years immediately before World War I, he started to move in London artistic circles, becoming friends with Max Beerbohm and William Rothenstein (there is a collection of letters from Manning to Rothenstein), as well as the influential young poets Ezra Pound and Richard Aldington.