The Fortune : With The Very Scarce Dorothea Braby Wrapper Goldring, Douglas & Huxley, Aldous (Preface) [Very Good] [Hardcover]

The First UK printing published by Douglas Harmsworth, London in 1931. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. Light ghosting to the spine of the book and a hint of fading to the edges. Neat slightly later ownership inscription to the front blank end-paper. Some spotting to the text-block and page edges due to the quality of the paper stock used. Spotting a little heavier to the prelims . A light vertical crease to one page in 'The Introduction'. The WRAPPER is neatly price-clipped and is in Very Good++ condition. Slightly chipped and nicked at the extremities with a small faint crease to right margin of the front panel. Some light spotting to the edges and flaps. Spine lightly faded and toned. Striking wrapper artwork by Dorothea Braby. The wrapper is protected in the removable Brodart archival cover. Aldous Huxley provides the preface here, wherein he credits it being the 'earliest, indeed the only contemporary, fictional account of war-time pacifism'. An important fictional account of pacifism, praised by T.S. Eliot, who reviewed it as 'unquestionably a brilliant novel'. It had been published earlier in Dublin in 1917. Its themes of conscientious objection, reflecting the author's strident views, and the dramatic climax of the Easter rising were not palatable to a contemporary audience. This edition adds a long introduction by the author. An important title and extremely scarce to find as the first issue, more-so with the striking wrapper. JSIC lists only 5 copies in holding institutions. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact