Evelyn Waugh, 1928

WAUGH, Evelyn (1903-1966). Decline and Fall. London: Chapman & Hall Ltd, 1928.

A presentation copy of Waugh’s first published novel. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: "For E.V. Fleming with best wishes from his old friend the author Evelyn Waugh.” With annotations by Fleming, some apparently the result of direct communication with Waugh, decoding the true identies of thinly veiled characters—e.g., on page 83 "'Lady Circumference' was said to have been based on a Mrs. Owen Tweedle (communication from E.W. to E.V.F.)." Edward Fleming, a civil servant, was the father of Jean, Philippa, and Maxwell Fleming, who had been Waugh's childhood playmates and surrogate family during his lonely youth. In the years leading up to World War I the group—dubbed by Waugh "The Pistol Troop"—set about preparing for a German invasion, which included fortifying a clay heap, storing provisions, and preparing poison soup for the enemy. Decline and Fall was published to nearly unanimous praise and it went through several printings the same year. The present copy is the third impression of the first edition. Davis et al., 4; Philip Eade, Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited, pp.18-19.

Octavo. (Some spotting internally.) Publisher's black and red cloth (chip to head of spine affecting "D" in title, some wear to joints and extremities otherwise, spine leaning, front panel of dust jacket preserved on front pastedown.). Provenance: Edward Vandermere Fleming, 1869-1947 (authorial inscription).