LESBIA BRANDON by Swinburne, Algernon Charles

London: The Falcon Press. Good in Good dj. 1952. First Edition. Hardcover. [foxing to edges of text block, offsetting to endpapers, moderate shelfwear, light spotting to covers; jacket has old tape reinforcements/repairs at all corners, and has also been laminated (on top of the tape repairs!)]. This fat book (583 pages) "is a twofold volume: it contains a novel by Swinburne, the most important of his numerous unpublished writings, and a book by Mr. Randolph Hughes which is a study of this work and also of Swinburne as a novelist in general, in which capacity he is virtually unknown." Per Wikipedia, Swinburne (1837-1909), better known for his poetry, verse drama, and criticism, was "obsessed with lesbianism." According to Jeannette Foster in her study "Sex Variant Women in Literature," this work (on which Swinburne toiled during much of the 1860s) wasn't even intended to be a novel per se, but rather a "narrative in mixed prose and verse"… Read More

London: Falcon Press, 1952. Reissue 2nd Printing. Cloth. Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. xxxv, 583 pp. Second printing. "Together with an historical and critical commentary being largely a study (an elevation) of Swinburne as a novelist, by Randolph Hughes." Foxing to page edges and endpapers; cover is faded and slightly soiled. Jacket is slightly chipped at the upper and lower edges, and is lightly water stained.

Falcon Press, 1952-01-01. Hardcover. Good. 7.1066 cent in x 20.0508 cent in x 14.7208 cent in. FIRST EDITION with dust jacket - rare and collectable - will send out 1 st class post within 12 hours of receipt of order

London: The Falcon Press, 1952. 2nd Ed. . Hardcover. Fine/Near Very Good. (2d: London) Very thick book, brown cloth, 583 pages--very light, though. Large brown stain to long pages' exterior edge. DJ heavy paper, gray background with ornate red border to front, praise on back for editor Randolph Hughes. DJ has nick at top front tip, very tiny tear at spine top left and right edge, microtear at spine bottom edge with light surface wear, very tiny tear at top back edge, light browning to end papers front and back. Near Very Good DJ/Fine book.

London : The Falcon Press, 1952. Cloth. Very Good Indeed/Very Good Indeed. 8" by 6". None. A first thus edition of Swinburne's pornographic novel Lesbia Brandon, with a historical and critical commentary by Randolph Hughes. Considered one of the leading decadent poets of the Nineteenth Century, the decadent nature of whom is particulary evident in this novel, Swinburne is said to have professed to more vice than he induldged in, with Oscar Wilde stating that Swinburne was a "a braggart in matters of vice, who had done everything he could to convince his fellow citizens of his homosexuality and bestiality without being in the slightest degree a homosexual or a bestialiser". In cloth binding with gilt detailing and original, unclipped dustwrapper. Externally very smart, there is some sunning to the backstrip and minor shelfwear. The dustwrapper features some ageing as well as rubbing and chipping to extremities and wear to joints. Internally, the pages are firmly bound and generally bright… Read More