Last Tales

New York: Random House, 1957. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. First printing, octavo size, 352 pp. Isak Dinesen (nom de plume, Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke of Rungstedlund, nee Dinesen, 1885-1962) is likely best-remembered today for "Out of Africa", a fictionalized recounting of the life she led with her husband operating a coffee plantation, and for her short story, "Babette's Feast", both of which were adapted into Academy Award-winning films.

This collection includes stories written as early as the 1930s. While several of the stories garnered critical acclaim, the work as a whole was described by "Time" magazine as "a group of Gothic fiction" (n.b., per Wiki). The publisher, on the dust jacket flap, describes it as one in which Dinesen "again casts her magical spell in prose and...offers twelve tales in which fantasy and reality are harmoniously intermingled."

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full grey cloth over boards, gilt lettering stamped onto the front board and spine, black decoration and publisher's device on the spine, top edge stained red; octavo size (8 3/8" by 5 1/8"), pagination: [i-vi] [1-3] 4-341, [4 blank pp.] [346, author bio]. The dust jacket carries the original price of $4.00, design on front panel and spine of a tree in black and grey upon a red ground with red and white lettering, listing of the tales with short summaries on both flaps, back panel with author bio.

___CONDITION: Near fine, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; some very light sunning to the board edges, front hinge slightly tender (but not cracked), rear hinge strong. The unclipped dust jacket also near fine, entire, with only minor overall edgewear (a bit more noticeable at the head and tail of the spine), spine very lightly sunned. Overall a near fine to fine example.

___CITATION: First edition, first printing per Zempel with "First Printing" stated on the copyright page.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

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