JAMES LEES-MILNE: The Life.

UK,8vo HB+protected dw/dj,1st edn,3rd imp.[Complete number line 3, so 1st edn,3rd impression.] FINE+/FINE+.No owner inscrptn but price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy,subject's monochrome biographical portrait illustrated dw/dj panels with brown+gilt patterned design to fore-edges of dw/dj flaps and the spine/backstrip,capitalised pale cream(?) author,white part-title and gilt lettered remainder of title to front and repeated to spine,rear panel with critic's black-lettered review.Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges bright,crisp and unblemished - no foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips - appears unread,other than my own collation.UK,8vo HB+ protected dw/dj,1st edn,3rd imp,vii-xvipp+1-400pp [paginated] includes contents list/table, with blank verso,an illustrations list/table, author's Preface,15 chapters,16pp b/w contemporary subject-related biographical and other photographs in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece, between pp112/13 and pp272/73 respectively,,Publishing history of Lees-Milne's diaries,Notes and an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title with subject's b/w portrait portrait sketch (non-credited) to reverse,title page,and a dedication with blank verso. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and even internally, the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It really is an exceptional copy for its cleanliness and brightness.
JAMES LEES-MILNE (1908-97) - known to his friends as Jim - is remembered for his work for the National Trust,rescuing some of England's greatest architectural treasures,and for the vivid and entertaining diaries which have earned him a reputation as 'the twentieth-century Pepys'. In this long awaited biography,Michael Bloch portrays a life rich in contradictions,in which an unassuming youth overtook more dazzling contemporaries to emerge as a leading figure in the fields of conservation and letters.
It describes Jim's bisexual love life,his tempestuous marriage to the exotic Alvide,and his friendship with other fascinating literary figures including John Betjeman,Robert Byron,Rosamond Lehmann,and the Mitford sisters (whose brother Tom had been Jim's great love at Eton.) It depicts a man who was romantically attached to the England of his childhood and felt out of tune with his own times,but who left an enduring legacy through the preservation of country houses and his eloquent chronicling of a dying world. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!
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