VAINGLORY
London: Grant Richards Ltd., 1915. First Edition. The author's first and longest novel, financed at his own expense, and the first of his works produced by English publisher Grant Richards. In a series of vignettes, Vainglory is centered around the young protagonist Mrs. Shamefoot, who is on a luckless quest to immortalize herself in the stained glass window of an English cathedral. Contemporary reviews of the novel were scant, and the number of books sold in the year of publication amounted to no more than 179 copies. Benkovitz A2a. Item #5777
First Impression, one of 500 copies. Octavo (19.5cm); black cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; hunter green topstain; dustjacket; [8],9-260,[4]pp, with a pictorial frontispiece by Felicien Rops. Fine in a bright, Near Fine dustjacket, with light wear along the upper edge, and some trivial dust-soil. This copy without the publisher's 12pp catalogue, which Benkovitz cites as lacking in some copies (with no bearing on priority).
Price: $1,250.00