The Little Foxes. A Play in Three Acts.

HELLMAN, Lillian.

Published by New York: Random House, 1939

About this Item

First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author to Dorothy Parker, who had suggested the play's name, on the front free endpaper: "For Miss Parker who gave me Here Lies, a fine, fine present, and for Mr Campbell, with a great deal of love". Here Lies: The Collected Stories of Dorothy Parker, was published the same year. Parker and Hellman were friends for over 30 years, with Hellman writing in her memoir that "It was strange that we did like each other and that never through the years did two such difficult women ever have a quarrel, or even a mild, unpleasant word" (Hellman, p. 216). Despite the "great deal of love" Hellman sends to Mr Campbell (Alan Campbell, Parker's second husband), Hellman found him "a hard man for me to take" (Hellman, p. 216). Hellman was appointed executer of Parker's will, but when she discovered that the entire estate was left to Dr Martin Luther King, she disobeyed all Parker's wishes, causing her effects to be thrown away, and opting for a public memorial as a pose to the quiet cremation Parker wanted. The Little Foxes premiered on 15 February 1939 at the National Theatre, New York City, starring Tallulah Bankhead. It was most recently revived in 2024 at The Young Vic, directed by Lyndsey Turner and starring Anne-Marie Duff. Lillian Hellman, An Unfinished Woman, 1969. Octavo. Original brown cloth, spine and front cover lettered and decorated with house design in gilt on black ground, top edge blue, others untrimmed. Spine lightly toned, white mark and spot of fraying to head, light foxing to endpapers. A very good copy.

Seller Inventory # 178847

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Little Foxes. A Play in Three Acts.
• Publisher: New York: Random House, 1939
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)