THE HARPOLE REPORT

London: Secker, 1972. First Edition. Hard Cover. Dust Jacket. Signed by Author. First UK Edition. A VG+ copy in like price-clipped D/W. Formerly the property of Leila Berg, the British childrens author who wrote the "Nippers" series in the 1960s as a realistic and gritty alternative to Enid Blyton. She was a close friend of J L Carr who has written a 13-line inscription: "ignore the jacket it doesnt fit./ This was meant to be a serious report on/ English education by someone whod labored,/ man and boy (I began aged 18) in its/ vineyard. But because it didnt speak/ with measured tone and slow, not many/ readers tok it seriously./ Yet, if you bother/ to take stock, it covers just about most/ things the bigger issues, the irritating/ details./ I have written this to make this book more valuable in 2081.// Jim". Inscribed copies of this book are very uncommon. Laid into the back of the book is a hand-written 19-line letter (undated) to Leila Berg and a review by J L Carr of a book by J B Priestley from 1989