MacFALL, Haldane (1860-1928). The Wooings of Jezebel Pettyfer. London: Grant Richards, 1898.
8vo. Frontispiece inserted by the author, signed in pencil. Original pictorial tannish-yellow cloth stamped in black depicting an illustration of Jezebel (spine slightly skewed). Provenance: Annesley T. Warre (recipient of author's inscription, bookplate designed by illustrator of the book, C. Halldane MacFall).
FIRST EDITION, SUPPRESSED ISSUE, with the erotic illustration of Jezebel on the upper cover and the frontispiece from the "circular of the day" inserted and signed by the author. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY MACFALL TO HIS "DEAR FRIEND." The Wooing of Jezebel Pettyfer was the author's first book, set in the West Indies and featuring scenes of voodoo and sorcery. The work is "unusual in having a West Indian Negro hero and a densely document dedication of black life" (John Sutherland, The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction, p.399). Wolff 4329b ("Was it George Meredith who said it was the best book of the period but he wished it had never been written?").
[Laid in:] publisher's prospectus annotated by MacFall and other material.
Selections from the Library of Dr. John Talbot Gernon
This lot is located in Chicago.
