Decent Fellows by John Heygate, 1931 US First Edition

by John Heygate

$75 · Offered by eBay

First edition

Decent Fellows is the 1930 debut novel by British author John Heygate and belongs to a specific genre of early 20th-century British literature exposed-schoolboy novels, frequently compared to Alec Waugh’s The Loom of Youth. The book caused a major public controversy upon release due to its highly critical and scathing depiction of life, culture, and corporal punishment at his alma mater, Eton College. Heygate was close friends with author Henry Williamson, who heavily assisted in writing the book. Williamson specifically helped shape the controversial "swishing" chapter detailing the school's strict corporal punishment. Because of the "rumpus" the book caused in England, the first widespread hardcover edition was published a year later in New York by Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith (1931). This edition is highly notable because it includes an exclusive, lengthy introduction by Henry Williamson written to defend Heygate against British critics. Condition: Very Good condition. Because the publisher used a relatively fragile paper jacket, finding a copy today with the dust wrapper still intact is considered uncommon to rare- this book does not have the dust jacket. The book beneath the jacket features green cloth boards with black lettering and details on the spine, alongside a light orange publisher's top-edge stain on the pages. The other page edges show foxing (browning) commensurate with age. There is a slight separation between the endpaper and binding of the interior back c

• Publisher: Johnathan Cape and Harrison Smith, Inc
• Year: 1930
• Condition: Very Good

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