Women Writers, L
257. LAVIN, Mary. Tales from Bective Bridge. Boston: Little Brown (1942). Her first book, issued in an edition of 999 copies and preceding the British edition, which was winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Light bump to spine base and mild foxing to page edges; a very good copy in a good, spine-faded dust jacket with several spots on the front cover.
258. LAVIN, Mary. The House in Clewe Street. Boston: Little Brown, 1945. Second book, first novel by this American-born writer who grew up in Ireland, which is the setting for most of her writing. This is a wartime book, printed on cheap, pulpy paper. Signed by the author. Front flyleaf corner-clipped; otherwise a near fine copy, in a very good, supplied dust jacket. A quite presentable copy of this first novel by an important author, who is widely considered one of the twentieth century masters of the short story.
259. LAVIN, Mary. Selected Stories. NY: Macmillan, 1959. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. A nice copy of this collection, which includes first U.S. appearances of a number of stories as well as two stories that had not been published anywhere previously.
260. LAVIN, Mary. A Likely Story. (Dublin): Dolmen (1967). A small, attractive chapbook, printing a single story and done in an edition of 1500 copies. Price-clipped; else fine in self-wrappers. Signed by the author. Uncommon.
261. LAVIN, Mary. Collected Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971. Advance review copy of this definitive volume, which collects stories from eight published volumes, including a number that had not appeared in the U.S. Fine in fine jacket with very slight wear at the edges and corners. Signed by the author.
262. LAVIN, Mary. The Becker Wives. NY: NAL (1971). First U.S. publication of this short novel. Only issued in softcover in this country, in the "Plume" series of literary fiction published by New American Library. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
263. LAVIN, Mary. A Memory and Other Stories. London: Constable (1972). Fine in fine dust jacket.
264. LAVIN, Mary. The Shrine and Other Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977. The first American edition. One lower corner bumped, else fine in near fine dust jacket.
265. L'ENGLE, Madeleine. A Circle of Quiet. NY: FSG (1972). Nonfiction, an extended essay and personal reflections by an author who is most well-known for A Wrinkle in Time and the other volumes in that series, but whose writing spans five decades and a wide range of genres. Very near fine in near fine, spine-tanned dust jacket.
266. L'ENGLE, Madeleine. The Summer of the Great-grandmother. NY: FSG (1974). A volume in her highly praised, nonfiction "Crosswicks" trilogy. Slight foxing to top edge and light corner bump; still very near fine in near fine dust jacket.
267. LESSER, Ellen. The Other Woman. NY: Simon & Schuster (1988). The author's first novel, warmly inscribed by her to another writer. Fine in near fine dust jacket. A nice literary association.
268. LESSING, Doris. This Was the Old Chief's Country. London: Michael Joseph (1951). Her second book, a collection of stories set in the author's native South Africa. Spine-slant; a very good copy in a very good dust jacket with a few darkened spots.
269. LESSING, Doris. The Habit of Loving. London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1957. An early novel by a writer who was the only woman to be grouped together with Britain's "angry young men" of literature in the Fifties. Very good in very good dust jacket, with a bit of wear to the spine crown. Uncommon.
270. -. Same title, the first American edition (NY: Crowell, 1957). Top edge darkened; else near fine in about very good jacket. An uncommon title in the American edition, as well.
271. -. Another copy. Very good in a very good, rubbed dust jacket, which is slightly spine-faded.
272. -. Another copy. Owner initial and date front flyleaf, otherwise near fine in an about very good dust jacket with a chip threatening at spine crown.
273. LESSING, Doris. Retreat to Innocence. (NY): Prometheus Books (1959). The first American edition, issued in wrappers by the Liberty Book Club and apparently reproduced from the sheets of the second British printing. This is a crisp, near fine copy, and an unusual form for the release of a novel by a significant author.
274. LESSING, Doris. In Pursuit of the English. London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1960. A memoir of her first years in England, after growing up in southern Africa. Near fine in slightly spine-tanned, very good dust jacket. Scarce.
275. LESSING, Doris. The Golden Notebook. NY: Simon & Schuster (1962). The first American edition of one of the most important novels by a woman in the past fifty years, which helped define the issues confronting the Women's Movement before there was such a movement. Very good in very good dust jacket. A nice copy of a bulky book which, when found at all, is usually quite worn: both the book's sheer weight and the fact that it was widely read by those who encountered it have made collectible copies quite difficult to find.
276. -. Same title, the third printing of the American edition. With a lengthy new introduction, 15 pages, dated 1971. This edition was issued after the book had already become a classic of the women's movement, and the dust jacket text reflects that fact. Near fine in near fine dust jacket.
277. LESSING, Doris. A Man and Two Women. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1963. A collection of stories published the year after The Golden Notebook, and with a number of review excerpts for that title on the rear of the dust jacket, giving a sense of the book's extraordinary critical reception. This is a very near fine copy in near fine dust jacket. A very attractive copy.
278. LESSING, Doris. The Four-Gated City. NY: Knopf, 1969. A volume in the "Children of Violence" series, featuring Martha Quest and, in its speculative and visionary aspect, anticipating her later science fiction sequence. Some fading to top stain; near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
279. LESSING, Doris. The Memoirs of a Survivor. London: Octagon (1974). Another speculative look at the future-a dark vision extrapolated from the present and, as such, a politically charged novel. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with one tiny chip at the upper front panel.
280. LESSING, Doris. A Small Personal Voice. NY: Knopf, 1974. First American edition of this collection of essays, reviews and interviews. Fine in near fine, spine-faded dust jacket and inscribed by the author in the year after publication. Lessing's inscriptions are scarce.
281. (LESSING, Doris). "SOMERS, Jane." The Diary of a Good Neighbor. NY: Knopf, 1983. Uncorrected proof copy of the first of Lessing's pseudonymous books, written to test her theory that the publishing industry works on the basis of credentials and name recognition, not literary merit. While she publicly took the results to indicate that the experiment proved her thesis, the same facts could be seen otherwise: the "unknown" Jane Somers not only had her book published, but had it done by the most prestigious literary publisher in the U.S. The stated first printing of 6500 copies may be small by the standards of a successful and well-known writer (a Doris Lessing book would have had a first printing of about 25,000 copies) but most aspiring writers would be happy to have Alfred Knopf print 6500 copies of their book. This proof copy bears reviewer's (or rep's?) notes on the front cover (very positive) and an indication of a discount the publisher was offering, apparently to help push the book. An interesting and provocative experiment, as might be expected from the author of The Golden Notebook. Fine in wrappers.
282. LESSING, Doris. Canopus in Argos: Archives, Vols. 1-5. NY: Knopf, 1979-1983. An ambitious attempt by Lessing to use the science fiction genre to delve further into the questions that her earlier fiction raised about the dimensions of human possibility. A dramatic departure for this author, who has never shied away from breaking new ground in her fiction, or tackling difficult subjects. Volume one, Shikasta, is a review copy. (Volume 5 is a second printing and is included at no charge). Light dust soiling to the top edges of the pages, otherwise each of the novels is near fine or better in dust jacket. For the set:
283. LESSING, Doris. The Good Terrorist. London: Cape (1985). A return to the form of the realistic political novel after the above five-volume science fiction series. Fine in fine dust jacket.
284. LE SUEUR, Meridel. North Star Country. NY: Duell Sloan Pearce (1945). A volume in the American Folkways series. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket chipped at the corner and spine crown.
285. -. Same title, the "Paul Bunyan" edition, so indicated on a page tipped in prior to the title page, where the copy is signed by the author. Near fine in spine-faded, price-clipped jacket with small chips including one on the rear flap fold.
286. LEVIN, Jennifer. Water Dancer. NY: Poseidon (1982). First novel, about a long-distance swimmer. Remainder mark; else fine in fine dust jacket.
287. LEWIS, Janet. The Trial of Sören Qvist. (Toronto): Doubleday, 1947. Nick to front board; a very good copy in a good, spine-faded dust jacket, with a fair amount of creasing and two small but open tears on the front panel.
288. LIVELY, Penelope. Moon Tiger. NY: Grove (1988). First American edition of her Booker Prize winner. Fine in fine dust jacket.
289. LOVE, Deborah. Annaghkeen. NY: Random House (1970). A journal of a summer spent on Annaghkeen Island with her husband, writer Peter Matthiessen. Very good in very good, price-clipped dust jacket.
290. LURIE, Alison. Imaginary Friends. NY: Coward-McCann (1967). First American edition of her third novel. Small paint spots to foredge; else near fine in a dust jacket which also has several small paint splotches but is otherwise also near fine. Even with its flaws, a nice copy of a not common book.
291. LURIE, Alison. Foreign Affairs. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1984. The correct first edition of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Leatherbound, all edges gilt, with a silk ribbon marker bound in and an introduction by Lurie for this edition. Foredge bumped; else fine. Signed by the author.
292. LURIE, Alison. The Truth About Lorin Jones. Franklin Center: Franklin Library, 1988. Leatherbound limited edition, similar to the above, with a special introduction. Fine. Signed by the author.