Neighbours by Houghton, Claude

Chicago, U.S.A.: The Argus Book Shop, Inc. Hardcover in dustjacket. No date stated but published circa 1938 ('By the Same Author' list opposite the title page lists to 'Strangers' which was published in 1938). This appears to be the first American edition, and is a very scarce book. A clean, bright, firmly bound copy in original burgundy cloth binding, spine a little faded. Spine lettering is upside down relative to the text block; this is completely hidden by the scarce jacket which is Good+ to VG-, with quarter-inch chipping and a short tear at head of spine and a little more chipping at heel. [Jacket is now protected in a mylar sleeve.] "An intensely written journal of emotions and convictions, [in] its sustained, morbid power, Neighbours was certainly quite unlike any other novel of the time. It is an erotically-charged study of a dual personality, a sort of psychological doppelganger story. The protagonist, taking an attic room high above London, records in minute detail the artistic and sexual affairs of another lodger, in rooms opposite. This character, a fevered and fervent would-be author, is passionately evoked, suggesting he is partly autobiographical" - Mark Valentine, author, biographer and critic..