THE KING'S GENERAL [First edition]

Daphne du Maurier

Verlag: Victor Gollancz, 24 Russell Square, London, 1946

Beschreibung

First impression of the true first edition. ***Near fine in dark forest green cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine. The gilt is still quite bright. The boards are clean and unmarked. No creases. No bumps. No tears to the cloth. Internally very good with a stamp to the front pastedown "Oadby Tutorial, 21 East Street, Oadby, Leicester. Tel. 2715958." There is also "Copy 1" written in ink at the top corner of the front free endpaper, otherwise no inscriptions. Pages clean. No creases. No tears. Spine tight. ***In a very good original Gollancz yellow and black printed dustwrapper, illustrated with a shield to the front panel. The dustwrapper is priced 9/6 net on the spine and is complete, with just very small loss at the top and tail of the spine. Edges of dustwrapper slightly creased and rubbed. Spine of dustwrapper darkened. The back panel of the dustwrapper is unusually clean. Edges of dustwrapper slightly browned and discoloured, as is usually found with Gollancz dustwrappers from this period which were cheaply produced. ***298 pages plus one-page of acknowledgments at the back of the book. 190mm x 130mm. ***This is one of Daphne du Maurier's lesser known titles, and is probably her most enigmatic, chilling and dark novel. ***'"The King's General" was the first novel that Du Maurier wrote while living at Menabilly, the setting for her earlier novel "Rebecca", where it is called 'Manderley'. The writing of the novel was accompanied by prolific research, in which Du Maurier was assisted by Oenone Rashleigh, whose family owned Menabilly, and historian A. L. Rowse, to ensure the historical accuracy of her presentation of the Devon/Cornwall setting at the time of the Civil War. The historical precision and accuracy made it popular among local people, but the novel's reviews did not praise this aspect, which disappointed Du Maurier. The inspiration for the novel came from a discovery by William Rashleigh of a skeleton when involved in renovation work on the house. The skeleton was thought to belong to a Cavalier of the Civil War because of its clothing. "The King's General" was written shortly after the end of the Second World War, and reflects the influence of the war on family and romance. Honor's incapacity in the novel - represented by the nature of her crippling injuries which leave her housebound - has been suggested to represent an ambiguous message of the limited freedom for women in wartime. However this ignores the extended roles actually played by women during World War 2 in factories, on farms and taking over the roles usually performed by men at the time.' [Wiki] ***First impression of the first edition, extremely hard to find in a complete and original thin fragile dustwrapper, which was produced to post-war economy standards. Of interest to collectors of Daphne du Maurier's first editions. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 7948

Bibliografische Details

Titel: THE KING'S GENERAL [First edition]

Verlag: Victor Gollancz, 24 Russell Square, London

Erscheinungsdatum: 1946

Einband: Hardcover

Zustand: Near Fine

Zustand des Schutzumschlags: Very Good

Auflage: First Edition