Yeats, W.B.

8vo, first english edition, one of 2000 copies, presentation copy inscribed by the author to ethel mannin ("Ethel Mannin | from W.B. Yeats | June 1936"), original brown-and-yellow patterned paper boards with yellow linen spine, lettered in gold on the spine, dust-jacket, minor spotting

Wade 187

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Published in 2000 copies on May 15, 1936, three days after Wade 186, the American edition.

The novelist Ethel Mannin (1900-1984), who was involved in the World League for Sexual Reform, wrote over 100 novels and memoirs (normally averaging at least two books a year), including many books which successfully combined traditional romantic themes with strong political messages reflecting her pioneering views on sexuality, motherhood and marriage. She was a strong advocate of the revolutionary educational ideas of A.S. Neill, to whose famous Summerhill School she sent her only child Jean in 1926. Her novel Linda Shawn (1932) is a fictionalized account of a Neill-raised child. Mannin had strong Irish ancestry on her father's side, reflected in her 1948 Connemara Journal and two publications of 1952, The Wild Swans and other Tales from the Ancient Irish and This was a Man: some Memories of Robert Mannin by his Daughter.  She met Yeats in December of 1934 and "convinced [him] that erotic love was still a possibility after his operation" (Foster, op.cit), and he continued to see her until his death; in fact, he wrote to Mannin on August 22, 1938 about his wishes to be buried in Sligo and told her that his tombstone should just have his name and dates and the lines "Cast a cold eye/On life, on death:/ (Huntsman) Horseman pass by." This appeared in his poem "Under Ben Bulben," which he told Mannin in a letter of September 4, 1938 he had just written. His letter to her of December 23, 1938 was one of his last.