LANGLEY, Noel ~ The Tale of the Land of Green Ginger

Arthur Barker Limited, London: 1937

Large 8vo., sage-green publisher’s cloth, lined and lettered in black to spine; together in the original unclipped pictorial dustwrapper (5/- net), ruled and lettered in green with an onlaid plate to upper panel replicating part of the image from p.125; full-page frontis and a further 19 illustrations in full colour; THE BOOK good to very good, faded to the lower edge and spine tips, with some fraying to the cloth; slight shelf-lean; beginning to crack at central gutter with some webbing showing through; endpapers faintly spotted and offset, with previous owner’s inscription in ink to front free endpaper; one or two light spots within text, but otherwise a lovely and clean example; THE WRAPPER also good to very good, shelf-worn and a little darkened, with creases and rubbing along folds, some nicks and chipping particularly affecting the spine ends; with some closed tears; one crease and long closed tear to the lower panel (6cm long) now expertly repaired. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First small paper edition, also issued in large paper format. Langley’s scarce work of children’s fiction, and a fairy tale concerning the son of Aladdin. Noel Langley was born on Christmas Day in Durban, South Africa, and showed a talent for creative writing from a young age. Unperturbed by the less-than-enthusiastic response from his father (who valued physical activity over artistic pursuits), Langley began writing plays while at University, the first of which was performed in Durban in 1932. He went on to write for West End Theatres, published a successful novel, Cage me a Peacock, in 1935, and eventually accepted a full-time contract for the film production company MGM. The Land of Green Ginger tells the story of Abu Ali, the son of Aladdin, who is now the emperor of China. Ali’s first words (‘Button-nosed tortoise’) lead him on a fated quest which he embarks upon when he reaches maturity. Along the way, he meets Wicked Princes, Rubdub Ben Thud and Tintac Ping Foo, as well as magic phoenix birds and the classic magic carpet, and he must foil a series of evil schemes in order to complete his mission. The plot is very much set around the classic concept of ‘The Hero’s Journey’, in which the protagonist travels out on an adventure, overcomes perils, and returns home much changed by his or her experiences. The book was noted as being one of the first to continue a story after a ‘happily ever after’ ending, and was particularly popular at the time for its use of humorous wordplay. Langley’s book was so successful that the following year he was approached to write the screenplay for the now famous film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. In fact, it was Langley who suggested that Dorothy’s shoes should be changed from silver to ruby, giving us the iconic image so associated with the story today. In 1964, Langley recorded The Tale of the Land of Green Ginger in its entirety for LP. 1966, the book was re-issued with illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Scarce indeed in the wrapper.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good
JACKET: Very Good