1. Maugham (William Somerset) Liza of Lambeth, first edition, first issue (this copy without brackets to "All rights reserved" on verso of title), full-page signed inscription from the author on front free endpaper, with further autograph "correction" to p.124, 6pp. advertisements at end, original laurel green cloth lettered and blocked in gilt on upper cover and spine, with title and publisher's monogram in green on lower cover, minor rubbing to corners, but overall a very good copy, [Stott A1a], 8vo, T.Fisher Unwin, 1897.
*** The first issue of Somerset Maugham's first book. Originally entitled A Lambeth Idyll the book examines the appalling social conditions facing the residents of the London borough of Lambeth through the tragic & sordid experiences of the eponymous 18-year old Liza Kemp, and largely draws on the author's experiences as a houseman at St Thomas' Hospital. The excellent inscription, to one Robert Partridge, relates to the additional manuscript correction on p.124, where the word "stomach" was substituted at the publisher's insistence for the word "belly", here rectified by the author's own hand. This copy was previously in the Grenville Cook collection.
est. £4000 – £5000
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