Some Reminiscences. CONRAD, JOSEPH - INSCRIBED T0 LILIAN HALLOWES Autographs

First edition' 8vo (8 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches) pages 287:2, publisher's advertisements. Original blue cloth lettered in gilt. Headbands bruised, corners rubbed, endpapers tanned but overall good. Inscribed George P. B. Hallowes April 12 1912 on front fly. With, tipped-in, on front free endpaper, the cut inscription from an earlier work "To Lillian Hallowes from her Friend Joseph Conrad, 1921". Lillian Hallowes, Joseph Conrad's secretary. This inscription evidently cut from am otherwise very damaged copy of a 1921 Conrad work. Hallowes served as Conrad's amanuensis and typist for his manuscripts. By 1906, after the birth of his second son, Conrad's wife could no longer dedicate sufficient time to typing, so Hallowes was engaged to manage the work."Elusive" figure: Hallowes has been described by scholars as a "somewhat elusive and shadowy figure," despite her long association with Conrad and his family.Born in 1870, Lilian Mary Hallowes died1950.She was an intelligent, long-term employee who was tolerated by Conrad's family. Some have speculated that their relationship was more than professional.In his son John's memoirs, Hallowes was described as tall, willowy, and having a somewhat supercilious manner.Her time with the Conrad family was often intermittent. She would stay for weeks or months at a time and then depart, only to be recalled later by telegram.