The First Legion: A Drama of the Society of Jesus [*SIGNED*]

New York/Los Angeles/London: Samuel French. Very Good+. 1937. First Edition. Hardcover. (no dust jacket) [a good sound copy with minor shelfwear, slight fading to cloth along spine, a handful of small light spots in upper section of front cover]. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper: "For Arthur Lubin -- / who started so / much of this on / its way -- / Emmet Lavery / Hollywood / May 19 1944." Drama about the members of a Jesuit order in a small town, whose lives and individual concerns (including, for some, doubts about their faith) are upended when an apparent miracle healing takes place in their midst. The play had a 3-month run on Broadway in late 1934, and was later adapted into a 1951 feature film directed by Douglas Sirk, starring Charles Boyer and William Demarest. The connection between playwright Lavery and the prolific film/TV director Arthur Lubin is unknown, as is whatever contribution Lubin may have made to the genesis of this play, as alluded to in Lavery's inscription (although Lubin is known to have worked extensively in theatre as his film career was still ramping up in the 1920s and 1930s). Signed by Author . (Inventory #: 26327)