Graves, Robert ~ My Head! My Head! : Being the history of Elisha and the Shunamite woman; with the history of Moses as Elisha related it, and her questions put to him

FIRST UK PRINTING : Martin Secker, London : 1925

The First UK printing published by Martin Secker, London in 1925. 8vo., red marble-effect boards backed in black cloth, lettered in gilt along spine; in the plain paper wrapper, bordered and printed in red and priced 5/- to backstrip; The BOOK is in near Fine condition. A clean, square copy, some slight pushing to the spine tips, and light offsetting to end-papers; in the WRAPPER which is in Very Good ++ condition, some even shelf darkening and toning; lightly chipped to the spine ends, a couple of small red ink stains to the verso. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. One of only 500 copies of the first impression (without the box around the title page). The book is dedicated to T. E. Lawrence, a close friend of the writer's. Lawrence had previously saved the aspiring poet from bankruptcy, and in 1927 Graves went on to publish an authoritative biography of T. E. Lawrence. He was the only biographer to write with Lawrence's permission and cooperation. Written by Graves on the basis of two questions; the relationship between Elisha and the Shunamite; and the sequence of events which led to Moses's death, the present work was the author's first novel. In it, he adapts the story from the Old Testament text, forming a tale which weaves together discussions of faith with the original text, in which Elisha, the disciple of Elijah, prophesises that a wealthy woman will soon bear a son. That son, when he is born, restores her faith. Many years later, the son, returning from the fields, proclaims "My Head! My Head!", and is struck down. Elisha then returns to raise him from the dead. Graves further expounds upon Moses, and his role in amplifying the success of primitive Judaism over the other desert religions of the time. The book is prefaced by a lengthy argument by Graves, in which he lays out his personal views on the subject. Graves had a long and complex relationship with the bible, and although many of his books and poems were influenced by Christianity, he maintained a skepticism of biblical heritage. In 1946, he published another biblical novel, 'King Jesus', in which the son of God is treated not as a divine being, but instead a philosopher with a legitimate claim to the Judaean throne through Herod the Great. A bright copy of the author's first foray into fiction. Scarce in this condition.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Near Fine
JACKET: Very Good++