The Beginning of Spring : Signed by the Author

The First UK printing published by Collins, London in 1988. 8vo., dark green boards lettered in gilt to spine with publisher's device to foot; in wrapper with overlaid price sticker of £10.95 net, featuring an illustration by Frederic Cayley Robinson; The BOOK essentially in near Fine condition, aside from tiny bruises to spine tips and some very light dust soiling to the upper edge; The WRAPPER is in Very Good++ condition, with the lightest creasing to the edges, a small patch of tape residue to front flap and some light fading of colouring to the spine. The wrapper is protected in a removable Mylar cover. This copy signed (without dedication) by the author to a bookplate affixed to the title page. The book comes with a loosely inserted Booker Prize Shortlist 1988 Bookmark, and photocopied correspondence between the author and one Dan Monte on headed notepaper, serving as proof of provenance. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, 'The Beginning of Spring' was inspired by Fitzgerald's travels to Moscow in the mid 1970s, during which time she visited Tolstoy's house and a dacha, or country house, in a birch forest. Fitzgerald had always regarded Russian literature highly, and had studied the language in the 1960s. In 1970, she befriended the Swiss art curator, Mary Chamot, whose family owned a greenhouse business in Moscow, and the plot of 'The Beginning of Spring' developed directly from these experiences. Set in the capital city in 1913 just before the Bolshevik revolution, the story follows Frank, an English printer, whose wife has left him, and his subsequent relationship with Lisa, a beautiful Russian woman who he employs to look after his children. The novel was originally titled 'The Greenhouse', but was changed at the request of Fitzgerald's editor. "Reading a Penelope Fitzgerald novel is like being taken for a ride in a peculiar kind of car", author Sebastian Faulks once wrote of her work, "Everything is of top quality - the engine, the coachwork and the interior all fill you with confidence. Then, after a mile or so, someone throws the steering-wheel out of the window." More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.…