Todd, Barbara Euphan & Nickless, Will [Illus.] ~ Worzel Gummidge Takes a Holiday

FIRST UK PRINTING : Hollis & Carter, London : 1949

The First UK printing published by Hollis & Carter, London in 1949. 8vo., pale blue cloth lettered in navy to backstrip; housed in the wonderful pictorial dustwrapper by Will Nickless replicating the coloured frontis; a further four full-page captioned illustrations throughout text; The BOOK is a near Fine copy which is slightly rubbed to the edges and lightly pushed at the spine tips; front free endpaper offset, with previous owner's penned gift inscription; the Very Good+ WRAPPER creased along folds with small losses to the head and foot of the spine as well as to the ends of the folds; a couple of short closed tears; 6 x 3cm patch of abrasion to rear panel leading to loss of top layer of wrapper, affecting some lettering. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. Todd is best remembered today for the ten children's novels she wrote about her protagonist Worzel Gummidge, a scarecrow who comes to life on Scatterbrook farm and who befriends John and Susan, children who come to stay during the school holidays. The present story was the fifth in the series, and sees the title character getting up to his usual mischief with friends Earthy Mangold and Hannah Harrow. Antics include attempts at flying which come crashing back down to earth, and a swarm of bees who invade the living room of Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton. In the 1970s, the books were famously adapted for television by Keith Waterhouse, starring Jon Pertwee as Worzel and Una Stubbs as Aunt Sally.

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