<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First editions</a> of the novels The Return of the Soldier and Heritage, with a <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> letter by the author <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Rebecca%20West&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rebecca West</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3: 2 books and 1 letter.</li><li>Rebecca West (English) [Return of the Soldier].</li><li>Anthony West (English) [Heritage].</li><li>London: Nisbet/Random House, 1918-1955.</li><li>The letter, on headed notepaper (48 Kingston House North, Prince’s Gate, SW7) is dated January 19, 1974.</li></ul> The Return&nbsp;of&nbsp;the Soldier with&nbsp;Heritage, with a hand written letter from Rebecca West&nbsp;to&nbsp;publisher Hamish Hamilton, discussing&nbsp;her&nbsp;son Anthony&nbsp;and&nbsp;the breakdown&nbsp;of&nbsp;their relationship. The letter in black ink, covering two pages reads: My dear Jamie, How kind&nbsp;of&nbsp;you&nbsp;to&nbsp;write me that long letter, recalling my ancient triumphs&nbsp;and&nbsp;the sweet nature&nbsp;of&nbsp;Tommy. What a sad, sad story about the Hardy’s mistaken severity [sic], particularly as Thomas Hardy was I’m sure kept alive by pleasant company, which warmed the chill&nbsp;of&nbsp;that dreadful house. It was a terrible punishment for him,&nbsp;to&nbsp;be punished for being a bad architect by spending his old age on one&nbsp;of&nbsp;his own house when he had justified his existence by being a good writer. Not fair. But what is? I am having a dreadful time over Anthony’s articles. You cannot imagine what it is like&nbsp;to&nbsp;see in black&nbsp;and&nbsp;white or as newspaper statements by your son about a fictitious universe. He went&nbsp;to&nbsp;only four schools, a baby school, one preparatory school for which I&nbsp;took him away, another which he liked&nbsp;and&nbsp;Stove. He writes&nbsp;of&nbsp;being shunted over the country from one shabby boarding school&nbsp;to&nbsp;another - including one at Christie (?) in Kent, which specialised in taking the ?&nbsp;of&nbsp;? real people. I never heard&nbsp;of&nbsp;the place. I don’t know where this will end. Or rather I do.&nbsp;And&nbsp;hope I won’t live&nbsp;to&nbsp;see it. But one’s friends console one -&nbsp;and&nbsp;your letter was a great pleasure, Yours ever, Rebecca Rebecca West&nbsp;and&nbsp;Anthony West had a complex&nbsp;and&nbsp;often strained mother-son relationship. Anthony was the illegitimate son&nbsp;of&nbsp;Rebecca West, a prominent British author,&nbsp;and&nbsp;H.G. Wells, the famous science fiction writer. Raised primarily by West, Anthony struggled with feelings&nbsp;of&nbsp;abandonment&nbsp;and&nbsp;resentment, especially regarding his parents' unconventional relationship&nbsp;and&nbsp;his mother’s domineering nature. As an adult, Anthony became a writer himself. His roman a clef, Heritage (1955) portrayed a harshly critical view&nbsp;of&nbsp;his mother, which deeply hurt Rebecca. Their relationship deteriorated further after its publication,&nbsp;and&nbsp;they were estranged for much&nbsp;of&nbsp;their later lives. Despite occasional attempts at reconciliation, their bond remained difficult&nbsp;and&nbsp;distant until Rebecca West’s death. The&nbsp;collection&nbsp;and&nbsp;specifically the letter, highlights the distress caused within the relationship for Rebecca&nbsp;and&nbsp;is&nbsp;of&nbsp;institutional importance.&nbsp;

The Return of the Soldier, with Heritage, and a Hand Written From Rebecca West

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