Out of Africa. by Dinesen, Isak [Karen Blixen] - 1938

New York: Random House, 1938. First American edition of the author's masterpiece, a lyrical meditation on the seventeen years she lived in Kenya. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing. From 1914 to 1931, Danish aristocrat Baroness Karen Blixen owned and operated a coffee plantation in Kenya. After the plantation failed, she returned to Europe and began to write under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Out of Africa reads like a collection of stories in which she adheres to no strict chronology, gives no explanation of the facts of her life, and apologizes for nothing. Named by Modern Library as one of the 100 greatest works of nonfiction of the twentieth century. Basis for the film directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, which went on to win seven Academy Awards. Named by Modern Library as one of the greatest English-language nonfiction books of the 20th century.