A Fine Old Conflict.
1977 · New York
by Mitford, Jessica.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977. Octavo, white cloth & red boards (hardcover), gilt letters, uncut, xiv, 333 pp. Illustrated. Several small damp stains to upper edge; otherwise, Near-Fine in a Very Good+ dust jacket with light edgewear. “In a book bursting with wit, heart, and joie de combat, Decca Mitford takes us into her life as a happy warrior -- from her feisty girlhood as one of the famous/notorious dautherters of an eccentric British peer, through her years as a Red Menace (member of the American Communist Party in its salad days) and then as an (unrepentant) ex-Menace, to her incarnation as scourge and terror of the American Funeral Industry...What above all emerges from this book is the voice and presence of a woman -- jokey, deeply loyal, gorgeously spunky -- whom anyone in danger, outnumbered, back-to-the-wall (or, indeed, in the happiest of circumstances) would want as an ally and a friend. A historically fascinating book, an enoormous pleasure to read.” (Inventory #: 70511s)