The Mysterious Aviator ( Scarce First in Dust Jacket) (Published in the UK as"So Disdained") Published in the U.S. asThe Mysterious Aviator, and written soon after the General Strike of 1926, the novel reflects the debate in British society about socialism. The principled narrator initially chooses loyalty to a friend who betrayed Britain to Russia, over loyalty to his King and country. The book concludes with the narrator joining forces withItalian Fascistsagainst a group of Russian spies

Shute, Nevil . (Price Reduction)

Published by Houghton Mifflin, 1928

About this Item

Bound in finely woven blue textured cloth stamped brightly in orange on the front boards and on the spine. Very clean and tight throughout with faint offsetting from the dust jacket flaps to the pastedowns. With light edge wear and a faint white scuff at the top of the spine not affecting the orange lettering. In the original striking dust jacket featuring the Mysterious Aviator in his vintage biplane on a purple background flying over a sleepy town. With the original price of $2.00 at the top of the inside front flap. Chipping and wrinkling to the top of the spine ends; small pieces missing at the corners. Heavy edge wear along the jacket folds. Closed tears: With a 2" closed tear at the bottom of the front flap; with a 1" closed tear across the spine. Chips and small pieces missing along the edges. A very handsome, collectible copy of Nevil Shute's second novel with the wonderful vintage dust jacket. Quite uncommon in dust jacket. Nevil Shute Norway(1899 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels, which included On the Beach and A Town Like Alice. Dissatisfied with the lack of opportunities for advancement, he took a position in 1924 withVickers Ltd., where he was involved with the development of airships, working as Chief Calculator (stress engineer) on the R100airship project for the Vickers subsidiary Airship Guarantee Company. In 1929 he was promoted to DeputyChief the R100 project underBarnes Wallis and when Wallis left the project he became the Chief Engineer.[1] The R100 was a prototype for passenger-carrying airships that would serve the needs of Britain's empire. The government-funded but privately developed R100 made a successful 1930 round trip to Canada. While in Canada it made trips from Montreal to Ottawa, Toronto and Niagara Falls. The fatal 1930 crash in France of its government-developed counterpart R101 ended British interest in dirigibles. TheSecretary of State for Air,Lord Thomson, was killed in the crash along with several senior figures in the airship development program.[1]The R100 was immediately grounded and subsequently scrapped. Shute gives a detailed account of the development of the two airships in his 1954 autobiographical work,Slide Rule. His account is very critical of the R101 design and management team, and strongly hints that senior team members were complicit in concealing flaws in the airship's design and construction. InThe Tender Ship,Manhattan Project engineer andVirginia Tech professor Arthur Squires used Shute's account of the R100 and R101 as a primary illustration of his thesis that governments are usually incompetent managers of technology projects. In 1931, with the cancellation of the R100 project, Shute teamed up with the talented de Havilland trained designerA. Hessell Tiltmanto found the aircraft construction companyAirspeed Ltd.[1]. (Wikipedia) First Edition with matching dates of 1928 on the title and copyright pages.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Mysterious Aviator ( Scarce First in Dust Jacket) (Published in the UK as"So Disdained") Published in the U.S. asThe Mysterious Aviator, and written soon after the General Strike of 1926, the novel reflects the debate in British society about socialism. The principled narrator initially chooses loyalty to a friend who betrayed Britain to Russia, over loyalty to his King and country. The book concludes with the narrator joining forces withItalian Fascistsagainst a group of Russian spies
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Publication Date: 1928
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature