To Beg I Am Ashamed The Authentic Autobiography of a London Prostitute

An incredibly scarce copy of this controversial autobiographical account, printed in India. An incredibly scarce copy of this autobiographical work, written under a pseudonym, which faced strong moral opposition to its original publication.A later example of the Indian edition, undated, and described as the 'War Edition'. The true first edition (UK) was published in 1938, and the first Indian edition, in 1940.Published by the Allahabad-based publishing house Kitabistan, which was founded in 1930, by the Rehman brothers - Kaleemur Rehman and Obaidur Rehman.It gained rapid popularity, and opened a branch in London - the first Indian publishers to do so - with the aim to publish works of Indian writers in England.This remarkable ambition was prematurely crippled, upon the introduction and enforcement of the Partition, which resulted in the government claiming the building, and, in 1955, gave the government the authority to auction it off. Bound in blue paper covered boards, with fly leaves. Externally, slightly worn. Notable rubbing to spine and joints. Paper to spine chipped. Joints starting. Occasional marks to boards. Slight loss to paper to rear board. Rubbing to spine tips. Bookseller stamp to front free endpaper. The odd marks to endpapers. Internally, firmly bound, with slight strain. Pages generally bright and clean, with the odd spot. Very Good.…