DUMB-ANIMAL AND OTHER STORIES. [London]: Duckworth, 1930. Octavo, pp. [1-8] [1] 2-360, original purple cloth, spine panel stamped in gold, top edge stained gray, other edges untrimmed. First edition. Collects seven stories. "Happy Endings," a satirical novella about English public schools and upper middle class mores, deals extensively with the subject of occultists (satirically) and destiny (ambivalently). A libel lawsuit over this story led to the publisher's destruction of unsold copies. Osbert was the middle of three literary siblings (between Edith and Sacheverell), prominent in the years between the two World Wars, aristocratic modernists (or, as their critics might say, supercilious rabble-rousers). Osbert is remembered now chiefly for his five-volume autobiography (which covers other family members as well), but he also published poetry, essays and fiction, among other things; some of his fiction is fantastic. Fifoot oA17a. NCBEL IV 348. Cloth a bit rubbed, a very good copy. (#117132).
Price: $25.00
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