HOUSMAN, A. E.

£450 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

A Shropshire Lad. A very attractively bound pocket-sized copy of Housman's first and most significant poetry collection. First published at Housman's own expense in 1896, the second edition of A Shropshire Lad was issued in 1898 by the publisher Grant Richards, with whom Housman became close. "Though not an instant success, the little volume gradually won a large audience through the universality of its dominant themes (nature, love, war, and death) and the directness of its language and rhythms." (ODNB). With a few exceptions, Grant Richards and his successor firm, the Richards Press, have published all subsequent English editions.Provenance: Stephen C. Massey.

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