Out of Hand

London, England: Macmillan & Company , Ltd.. Very Good in Very Good- dust jacket. 1963. 1st Edition; 1st Printing. Hardcover. B&W Illustrations; This book is in Very Good condition and has a Very Good- dust jacket. The book and its contents are in generally clean, bright condition. There is a bump / wrinkle to the top spine end of the book cover. The text pages are clean and bright. The edges of the text block have light foxing / spotting. The dust jacket has several small to smallish edge tears, nicks and rubbed spots along with some lightly ground-in dirt to the rear panel. There is a small chip to the top spine end of the dust jacket. "Smith was born as Elspeth Hallsmith in Cornwall, daughter of a bank clerk, Guthrie Hallsmith, D. S. O. And his wife Janet, a nurse. Her father suffered a nervous breakdown and left the family, after which Smith only saw him three more times in his life. She received a "negligible" private education up to the age of 16, when she decided to take up a job at the War Office. During the Second World War, she volunteered to work on the canals as a boatswoman. Later on, her experiences as a trainee boatswoman on the Grand Union Canal would become the basis for her debut novel, Maidens' Trip. " (from Wikipedia) .