Waugh, Evelyn

8vo, FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED TO REBECCA WEST ("Rebecca West | with best wishes from | Evelyn Waugh") on the front free endpaper, original red cloth, collector's decorative folding box with morocco onlays, bumped at head and foot of spine

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."

Rebecca West began as an admirer of Waugh's writing, unreservedly praising his biography of Rossetti and his novel A Handful of Dust, which was published in September 1934. However, her opinion of him soured in the 1950s after he successfully sued Beaverbrook Newspapers for endorsing defamatory extracts from her The Meaning of Treason. She ultimately came to describe him as "a disgusting common little man...he had never been taught how to avoid being offensive..." (quoted in New York Magazine, 17 November 1980, p.66).