ASYLUM PIECE AND OTHER STORIES

First edition, first printing of the author's first book as Anna Kavan. Publisher's original grey cloth with black titles to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding firm and cloth bright and fresh, the spine slightly rolled. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a touch of toning to the spine and panel edges and remains without loss or tears. Not price-clipped (7s 6d net to the front flap). Very scarce.

A masterpiece of experimental fiction, this collection of 19 linked short stories marked a radical departure from the author's earlier work as Helen Ferguson. The outbreak of the Second World War meant that, despite excellent reviews, the book quickly faded into obscurity without further British publication in the author's lifetime. Peter Owen, prompted by the success and critical acclaim of Kavan's novel 'Ice' (1967) re-issued the collection posthumously in 1972. An American edition combining 'Asylum Piece' and 'I am Lazarus' (1945) was published by Doubleday in 1946.