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A first impression of the true first edition of Barbara Pym's fourth novel, published by Jonathan Cape in 1955. ***Very good in brown cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine and front board. The boards are clean and unmarked, but the gilt titles have oxidised on the spine. Lower edges very slightly faded. No bumps or creases. Corners sharp. Binding tight and square with no reading lean. Edges of page block clean with just some light foxing, especially to the fore-edge. Internally also very good with no inscriptions - just a name "Thwaite" in pencil on the front free endpaper. Please note there is some pronounced foxing to the endpapers and the first and last few pages, including the title page, but the interior pages are clean with only sporadic fox spots (please see scans). The paper stock is still white without any tanning. No creases or tears. ***In a very good original dustwrapper, which retains the publisher's printed price of 13s. 6d. net. Please note that whilst the dustwrapper is largely complete, there is 2.5cm of loss at the head of the spine which affects the titles, and some rubbing and splitting to the edges (please see scans). Other than this, there is just light rubbing and creasing to the extremities, and some light browning at the edges. The back panel is particularly clean. ***256 pages. 195mm x 135mm. ***'Barbara Mary Crampton Pym FRSL (2 Jun 1913 - 11 Jan 1980) was an English novelist. In the 1950s she published a series of social comedies, of which the best known are "Excellent Women" (1952) and "A Glass of Blessings" (1958). In 1977 her career was revived when the critic Lord David Cecil and the poet Philip Larkin both nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century. Her novel "Quartet in Autumn" (1977) was nominated for the Booker Prize that year, and she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Pym wrote her first novel, "Some Tame Gazelle", in 1935, but it was rejected by numerous publishers including Jonathan Cape and Gollancz. She wrote another novel, "Civil to Strangers", in 1936 and several novellas in the following years, which were collectively published as "Civil to Strangers" after her death. In 1940, Pym wrote the novel "Crampton Hodnet", which would also be published after her death. After some years of submitting stories to women's magazines, Pym heavily revised "Some Tame Gazelle", which this time was accepted by Jonathan Cape for publication in 1950. Pym's second novel, "Excellent Women" (1952), was well received, but her third, "Jane and Prudence" (1953), received more mixed reviews. Her fourth novel, "Less than Angels" (1955), had poorer sales than the previous three, but it attracted enough attention to be Pym's debut novel in the United States. The novel's 1955 sales totalled 3,092 copies, which the publisher commented "isn't good enough". By the end of the decade, it had sold only 3,569 copies. The book did not lose money for the publisher but was not considered a success. A representative from 20th Century Fox came to England with an interest in securing the film rights, but this ultimately fell through. (Wiki) ***'The novels of Barbara Pym have a flavour of their own -- and a public of their own, which will welcome the latest of them.' (Quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper) ***A rare first impression of the true first edition of Barbara Pym's fourth novel, "Less than Angels". Whilst the dustwrapper is defective on the spine, copies of the novel are very hard to find now, in particular in the dustwrapper, which is printed on thin paper and is fragile. All Pym's novels published by Cape are now scarce. ***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.
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