This Above All

London: Cassell, 1941. First Edition. Signed by the author, Eric Knight, with a lengthy and content rich two-page inscription by him including details about the trials of living and publishing during war time. Inscribed: “To Aquilla Hanson, This is the same as the American edition except that all the ‘bloodies’ are cleaned up because Clive wasn’t allowed to swear before Prue in England. The Lord Chamberlain is final dictator on such things, and no appeal. It came out late because Cassells was bombed and destroyed completely and printed pages all burned. It’s all gone, La Belle Sauvage Yard where John Smith took the beautiful savage, Pocahontas, and set up a pub. I lived up the street and it used to break my heart to see demolition squads shoveling away history into a rubble-truck. Sir Newman Flower said they found artifacts in the foundations and also still preserved a wooden dock of the Roman times which showed the yard was built over what had been the Fleet River 2000 years ago, after which Fleet St. was named. The river is gone, but some of Fleet St. is still left to carry on. There were holographic and signed copies of original Dickenses and Wildes and so on in the cellar at Cassells. Eric Knight.” Laid in are several newspaper clippings regarding Mr. Knight’s life, his tragic death in an air crash in Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) in 1943 when he was a Major in the United States Army - Special Services, and a photo of Knight’s widow, Jere Knight, taken in 1944 while she was serving as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Women’s Air Corps. in London. Near fine copy with minor edge wear in a very good bright dust jacket with a touch of dust soiling and some small chips and tiny tears. The front panel and spine of the dust jacket is a color painting showing the central characters, the young couple Clive and Prue (referred to by Knight in his inscription), standing near the famed White Cliffs of Dover which is being bombed, witnessing enemy planes overhead illuminated by spotlights. ‘This Above All’ is the basis of the acclaimed World War II romantic drama directed by Anatole Litvak, screenplay by R.C. Sherriff, starring Tyrone Power, Joan Fontaine, Nigel Bruce, Thomas Mitchell, and Sara Allgood. The film won an Oscar for Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black & White, and was nominated for Best Cinematography, Black & White, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound, Recording. Eric Knight (1897 - 1943) is most identified with his classic novels about an amazing and courageous collie named Lassie, the basis of several television series and films. Knight had a varied military career in addition to his life as a novelist, including service in the Canadian Army during World War I and his final position in the U.S. Army - Special Services. Knight’s poignant inscription in this book is an indication of his generous and gentlemanly nature and his personal understanding of the lasting consequences of war.