THE HERO CONTINUES: A NOVEL - INSCRIBED TO W.H. AUDEN
London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1960. First Edition. An early published work by Windham (1920-2010), his novel based on the life of his close friend Tennessee Williams, the book's dedicatee. An Atlanta native, Windham and his lover, Fred Melton, left for Manhattan in the late 1930's, where Windham was absorbed into the city's literary and artistic society. It was there he befriended Williams, Truman Capote, Paul Cadmus, Carl Van Vechten, and W.H. Auden – all of them frequent visitors to Fire Island. Whether it references Auden's poem "The Hero" (Part XVI of "The Quest"), or his New York Times review of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring ("The Hero Is a Hobbit"), his six factors of a hero's quest, or his persistent appeal of the Quest as a literary form, Windham's inscription is more perceptive than it appears on its face, showing a deep awareness of his friend's preoccupation with the concept of the hero in literature. A superb inscription, connecting two of the twentieth century's prominent queer men of letters. Kellner A6.a. Item #5663
First Impression. Octavo (20.25cm); sage green paper-covered boards, with titles stamped in silver on spine; dustjacket; [6],7-191,[1]pp. Inscribed by the author to W.H. Auden on the front endpaper, one month prior to publication: "30 Mar '60 / To Wystan / in hope this will interest him as much as his ideas about heroes interest me / Don." Slight forward lean, faint finger-soil to text edges, lower corners gently bumped, with the occasional tiny stain to margins; Very Good+. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced 15s net), lightly edgeworn and dust-soiled, with sunning to spine and front flap fold, a few tiny nicks, and a handful of faint stains on verso; Very Good.
Price: $1,500.00