Lee, a Dramatic Poem

New York: Macmillan Company, 1926 First limited edition. One of 250 numbered copies signed by Masters, this being number 66. Publisher's black cloth, stamped in gilt with facsimile signature to front board; in its publisher's slipcase, with gilt label affixed to front panel. About fine book, with some rubbing to foot of spine, bright and clean boards, and light spotting to endpapers; very good slipcase, with some soiling to titles label, some wear and flaking to corners and mouth of slipcase, and a scratch to rear panel. Overall, a handsome copy. Opening with a conversation between two symbolic characters - Ormund and Arimanius - on the lawn of the Washington Monument on April 17, 1961, this verse play is a meditation on the Civil War and the legacy of Robert E. Lee. Edgar Lee Masters followed up Lee with a few other "dramatic poems" about historical figures and events, including Jack Kelso: A Dramatic Poem (1928), Godbey: A Dramatic Poem (1931), and Richmond: A Dramatic Poem (1934). Masters is best known for Spoon River Anthology (1915), a collection of more than 200 free-verse poems framed as confessional speeches from the dead inhabitants of a rural Illinois graveyard. . Signed by Author. First Limited Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine.