WITH WEST'S SIGNATURE TO THE FRONT FREE ENDPAPER.

WEST, Rebecca ~ The Thinking Reed : Signed by the author

FIRST UK PRINTING. Hutchinson & Co., London: [1936].

8vo., black publisher's cloth lettered in white to spine; in the haunting dustwrapper featuring a design of a white mask suspended from some bull rushes; THE BOOK a little faded to spine with some nicking at head and foot; some marking to the edges of the text block; and some spotting/offsetting mostly affecting the endpapers; very good ++ in THE WRAPPER which has retained much of its original colour; some shelf wear and darkening, particularly along folds and to flaps; with some rubbing, creasing and chipping to edges, particularly spine tips and ends of folds; a couple of short closed tears to the rear flap fold, all repaired with tape to verso. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. FIRST UK EDITION, this copy with a page pasted to the front free endpaper on which the author has signed her name in black ink. One of the most popular works of fiction by Rebecca West, the British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. Born Cecily Isabel Fairfield, she took her pseudonym from the rebellious young heroine in 'Rosmersholm' by Henrik Ibsen. 'The Thinking Reed' was her fifth novel, which takes as its focus the corrupting influence of wealth on inherently decent people. The protagonist, Isabelle, is a wealthy young American who has travelled to Europe in the wake of her husband's death in search of love and excitement. There, she must choose between her violent, fascinating lover, the aristocrat Andre de Verviers; a reserved plantation owner from the Deep South, Laurence Vernon; and the eccentric millionaire Marc Sellafranque. The work is considered by some to be semi-autobiographical; West's writing had by the 1930s brought her considerable wealth and fame, and she lived an elegant and extravagant lifestyle; purchasing a Rolls Royce and a grand country estate in the process. Her depictions of the various scenes at Antibes, St. Moritz and Le Touquet are also praised, as are her depictions of supplementary characters which include "Poots the terrible, Luba the Russian emigree, Monsieur and Madame D'Alperoussa the Balkan crooks" all of whom are described with "a lively blend of humour and sympathy" (dustwrapper). A lovely copy in the striking dustwrapper.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good ++
JACKET: Very Good