Increasingly scarce in the Biro wrapper

Taylor, Elizabeth ~ In a Summer Season

First UK Printing : Peter Davies, London : 1961

The First UK Printing published by Peter Davies, London in 1961. 8vo., camel-coloured cloth embossed with floral motif in red to upper board; lettered in red to backstrip; together in the vibrant pictorial wrapper featuring a design by Val Biro; neatly clipped, with publisher’s repriced sticker '25/- net' crossed out in biro to the lower front flap; The BOOK a bright copy, mildly offset to endpapers and ever so slightly ghosted along the spine; light toning to the text-block with the odd spot to the upper edge; previous owner’s inscription in ink to the front free endpaper; p. 119/120 with a vertical crease; else a Very Good++ copy in the like WRAPPER which is a little creased along folds and edges, with some small nicks and small closed tears to the upper panel; spine mildly sunned and very lightly chipped at spine tips ; a previous owner has very lightly drawn over Taylor’s eyebrow and lips in red biro to the photograph on the rear panel. This is barely discernible and does not essentially detract from what is a very nice wrapper in collectible condition. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. The author’s eighth novel was reported by some to be her “most sex-infused work”. Set in the Chiltern Hills, the plot follows Kate as she navigates her marriage and relationship with a close friend and widower; the attractive and enigmatic Charles. Full of the delicate nuances and innuendo which dominates the majority of her published work, the novel offers a portrait of domestic life and “the human heart accepting, reviving, growing afresh in humility and wisdom” (wrapper blurb). Taylor’s first novel was published in 1945, and she would go on to write a further eleven during the course of her life, along with a children’s book, and numerous short stories. Val Biro was predominantly a children’s author, illustrator, and artist whose prolific output of dust jackets included novels by such authors as Nevil Shute, C. S. Forester, and Elizabeth Goudge. Working with publishers such as Michael Joseph and Hamish Hamilton, he produced an estimated 3000 dust jackets from the early 1940s until the late 1970s - more than any other jacket designer of the era. 'You taste of rain', he said, kissing her. 'People say I married her for her money', he thought contentedly, and for the moment was full of the self-respect that loving her had given him. There has been a resurgence of interest of late in this author and she is increasingly becoming recognised as one of the best British writers of the 20th century. Consequently her titles are now becoming increasingly scarce, particularly so in the wrapper.

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