Lady Chatterley's Lover. Including My Skirmish with Jolly Roger.

Second edition, with a letter from Pethick-Lawrence tipped onto the title page verso, addressed to one "Diana", perhaps her fellow suffragette Diana Tyson. Pethick-Lawrence comments that she "had no idea I should be so immensely [underlined] delighted with this book. I should like every girl & boy of 17 to have this book put into their hands". In the rest of her letter, Pethick-Lawrence elaborates that "in absence of people's enlightenment & training [Lady Chatterley's Lover] would be the best kind of initiation into manhood and womanhood." The recipient of the letter appears to have sent Pethick-Lawrence the book, as she signs off "Many thanks! [underlined] I shall keep this book to be re-read". Lady Chatterley's Lover was first published in Florence in 1928. The second edition was designed to discourage the numerous pirate editions that were already in circulation, as described by Lawrence in his introduction. The uncensored text did not legally appear in the UK until the 1960 Penguin edition was published; the unlettered red boards may have been intended to disguise the book. Roberts & Poplawski A42c. Octavo. Contemporary letter tipped onto title page verso (177 x 144), written in black ink on both sides. Contemporary red cloth, edges untrimmed, original brown wrappers bound in at front and rear. Bookseller's stamp on inside rear wrapper, single sheet of quotes from the text tipped onto p. [3], pencil marks to rear pastedown. Spine leaning and a little sunned, extremities gently rubbed and bumped.…