LEWIS, Wyndham ~ Left Wings Over Europe or How to Make a War about Nothing.

FIRST UK PRINTING. Jonathan Cape, London: 1936.

8vo., bright red cloth lettered in black to upper cover and spine with publisher's device to foot; upper edge stained red; together in the unclipped dustwrapper (7s. 6d. net) printed in black, white and red; THE BOOK near-fine, one small nick to cloth at upper edge of lower board; THE WRAPPER also near-fine, with none of the usual fading to spine; slight shelf wear to lower panel; one or two tiny closed tears, small chip at head of spine, else in exceptional condition. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First UK edition, first printing, one of just 1500 copies printed. Together with an original postcard from the publisher loosely tipped in. A hastily written tome, published several years before the outbreak of the Second World War, in which Lewis outlines his critique of pro-war politics in the aftermath of the First World War. Lewis had served as a a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery during WWI, and after returning to the UK his attentions increasingly turned from art and works of fictional to political tracts. The present title represents one of five anti-war books which he published during the 1930s, beginning with 'Hitler' in 1931, a hugely controversial and polarising text which appeared to present the dictator "man of peace". Later he ammended his views significantly and published the satyrical 'The Jews, Are they Human?' in a response to anti-semitic views. 'The Hitler Cult' later cemented his disdain for the German leader. 'Left Wings Over Europe' presents his criticism of international order of the western powers, the Soviet Union, and sympathetic towards the fascist regimes in Italy and Nazi Germany. "Though replete with a range of mercurial analysis", the publisher later wrote, "this work...provide[s] a highly subjective yet fascinating contemporary account of the day-to-day diplomatic crises and political struggles that defined Europe in the mid-1930s." Though opposed to both socialism and communism, this scathing and often humorous critique attacks both left and right wing politics. Lewis later wrote in his autobiography that he hoped "this group of books against war can be written off as futile performances - ill-judged, redundant, harmful of course to me personally, and of no value to anybody else". Unfortunately, he was wrong, and after the war which followed this book remained one of his most sought-after and well-read titles within his body of works. "As far as Great Britain is concerned, there is, in 1936, not a shadow of a reason for a war with anybody", he states, "it is because that there is no concrete reason that abstract reasons have had to be thought up and trotted out." Scarce in this condition.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Near Fine
JACKET: Near Fine