The River War

London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1951. Hardcover. This is the final printing and final issue of the bibliographically important 1933 edition of Churchill's second published book, distinguished by both a binding and a dust jacket unique to these final copies issued after Churchill’s death in 1965.

Originally published in 1899, The River War recounts Churchill's experiences and reflections concerning British involvement in the Sudan, including Churchill’s participation in “the last great British cavalry charge”. In 1933, a so-called "Second Cheap Edition" was made from plates of the 1902 edition with a bibliographically significant new introduction by the author explaining that "A generation has grown up which knows little of why we are in Egypt and the Sudan." There were ultimately five printings of this edition with at least seven different dust jackets issued (at least two for the 1933 second printing and two for this final, 1951 printing). For this final issue of the fifth printing, the stated printing date is 1951, but the remaining fifth printing sheets were issued after Churchill's death in a distinctly different binding and dust jacket. (See Cohen A2.4.f and Langworth p.35.) The binding for this final issue is a purplish-blue-grey cloth with red and yellow headband, while the dust jacket is a bright, un-illustrated yellow with red print.

This copy is very good in a very good dust jacket. The cloth binding is square and tight with sharp corners, unfaded color, and bright spine gilt. What leads us to grade this copy as only “very good” is mild discoloration of the cloth at the spine heel, intruding on to the covers adjacent to the lower hinges with a touch of blistering to the cloth on the lower front cover. This would otherwise be a fine copy. The contents are crisp and bright with no spotting and no previous ownership marks. Differential toning to the endpapers corresponds to the dust jacket flaps, testifying that this copy has spent life jacketed. The scarce 1965-issue jacket is complete except for a neatly price-clipped lower front flap. Despite minor spine toning and soiling, the red print remains bright. We note some wrinkling to the upper and lower spine with associated closed tears, light overall soiling, and a few stains to the rear cover. The dust jacket is protected beneath a clear, removable, archival cover.

In 1883, Mahdist forces of messianic leader Mohammed Ahmed overwhelmed the Egyptian army of British commander William Hicks and Britain ordered withdrawal from the Sudan. In 1885, General Gordon famously lost his life in a doomed defense of Khartoum, where he had been sent to lead evacuation of Egyptian forces. General Kitchener reoccupied the Sudan in 1898. With him was a very young Winston Churchill, who participated in “the last great British cavalry charge” during the battle of Omdurman in September 1898, where the Mahdist forces were decisively defeated. Writing about the British campaign in the Sudan, Churchill - a young officer in a colonial British army - is unusually sympathetic to the Mahdist forces and critical of Imperial cynicism and cruelty. This work offers us the candid perspective of the future 20th century icon from the distinctly 19th century battlefields where Churchill learned to write and earned his early fame. The text is arresting, insightful, powerfully descriptive, and of enduring relevance.

Reference: Cohen A2.4.f, Woods/ICS A2(da.6), Langworth p.33