first edition Hardcover
1932 · New York
by Hanley, James
New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Near Fine in Near Fine dj. 1932. First American Edition. Hardcover. [beautiful copy with just a touch of fading to cloth along edges of covers, minor bumping to bottom rear corner; jacket shows a bit of wear at spine ends, but is generally just as nice as the book itself]. The first book by this British writer (born in Liverpool to Irish parents) to be published in the United States; its stories, like much of his early fiction, are centered around either the sea or the Irish Catholic working class of Liverpool. In his Preface, John Cowper Powys writes that he has "never read anything in fiction that brings the abominable suffering that goes on all the time among the exploited of the earth so savagely and unsparingly home." Hanley also wrote many novels with a Welsh background (he lived mostly in Wales from 1931 until 1963), and supported himself by writing plays for radio, television, and the stage during the 1960s, before returning to the novel in the 1970s. If you can supply the name of the artist for this striking dust jacket (the signature is there, beginning with "Wa," but I just can't make it out), I'll knock $10 off the price. . (Inventory #: 20265)