Children of the Ritz

New York: Boni and Liveright. Very Good. 1927. 2nd printing. Hardcover. (lacking the original dust jacket, but encased in a professionally-made facsimile reproduction of same; see 2nd image posted with this listing) [a good sound copy, age-toning and light soiling to edges of text block, some discoloration to endpapers]. Woolrich's second published novel, "the story of a beautiful young flapper, a sub-deb, born with a silver cocktail shaker in her hand (in place of the out-moded silver spoon in her mouth) who, from three-tenths ennui, four-tenths sex-appeal and three-tenths love, marries her handsome and deserving chauffeur. The resulting problem of readjustment, the tragedy of such a marriage and the futility of a solution is told against a giddy background of night clubs, race tracks and pecadillos." A bit of froth it may have been, but it also marked a milestone in the young writer's career. As the winning manuscript in a competition sponsored by College Humor magazine in association with First National Pictures, it not only brought Woolrich a financial windfall (in the form of the $10,000 prize for winning the contest), but also provided his entree to Hollywood (more money!); the resulting movie, starring Dorothy Mackaill and Jack Mulhall, was released in 1929. The filming of his book lured Woolrich himself to the West Coast for a time, although his actual involvement in the production was minimal. (His biographer describes him as "kibitzing desultorily" on the movie's sets.) More notably, the editor of College Humor magazine at the time was H.N. Swanson -- who had bought Woolrich's first published story, "Honey Child," for his magazine in 1926, and who also serialized "Children of the Ritz" in four issues prior to its publication in book form -- and in later years, in his subsequent incarnation as Hollywood's leading literary agent, sold a number of the author's novels to the movies. NOTE again that this book bears a FACSIMILE dust jacket, to serve the dual purpose of protecting the book from further wear and enhancing its appearance on the shelf; its presence has not been factored in to our pricing. .