The Strange Necessity: Essays and Reviews

London: Jonathan Cape, 1928. First edition. Cloth. Very Good/Very Good. 9" by 6". None. A first edition copy of this work by Rebecca West, bound in the publisher's original cloth binding, and held in the original dust jacket. Dame Rebecca West, was the pseudonym of Cicely Isabel Fairfield (December 21, 1892- March 15, 1983), a British-Irish feminist and writer famous for her novels and for her relationship with H. G. Wells. A prolific, protean author, she wrote essays and articles for The New Yorker, The New Republic, The Sunday Telegraph, and The New York Herald Tribune. She also was an important correspondent for the "Bookman." She was born in London. Her Irish journalist father deserted her Scottish mother — and then died — while Cecily was still a child. The rest of the family moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, where she was educated at George Watson's Ladies College. She trained as an actress, taking the name "Rebecca West" from Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen. She became involved in the women's suffrage movement before the First World War, and worked as a journalist on Freewoman and the Clarion. She met Wells in 1913, and their affair lasted ten years. They had a son, Anthony West, but Wells was already married (for the second time). West is also said to have had affairs with Charlie Chaplin and newspaper magnate Max Beaverbrook. In 1930, she married a banker, Henry Maxwell Andrews, and they remained together until his death in 1968. Before and during World War II, West travelled widely, collecting material for books on travel and politics. She was present at the Nuremberg trials. Her later work as a writer and broadcaster reflected these experiences. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Externally generally firmly smart with a small amount of wear to the extremities. There is some offsetting to the first front and rear blank end paper from the inside panels of the dust jacket. The dustwrapper is sunned and is chipped, particularly along the top edge. There is also a small closed tear to the base of the spine. Internally firmly bound. Pages are generally bright and clean with isolated spots. Very Good