Athill (Diana) After a Funeral
£125
London, Jonathan Cape, 1986.
First edition, first impression. With autograph letter from the author relating to the work loosely inserted. 8vo. Original burgundy boards. Dust-jacket, priced £9.50.
The 2pp. autograph letter from the author is on Andre Deutsch (where Athill was a director) headed paper, and discusses the main character of the book, ‘Didi’, the Egyptian author Waguih Ghali. Ghali was a writer best known for his novel Beer in the Snooker Club (1964), a semi-autobiographical work that explored themes of colonialism, identity and exile. He was part of Athill’s circle of friends, and their relationship, as depicted in After a Funeral, was deeply personal and marked by his struggles with depression, displacement, and eventually his tragic suicide in her flat in 1969.
Out of stock
A fine copy in fine dust-jacket.
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