[Viereck, Peter] Acton, Harold / Yi-Hsieh, Lee.

Four Cautionary Tales [Inscribed by Harold Acton to George Sylvester Vviereck]. Translated from the Chinese by Harold Acton and Lee Yi-Hsieh. With an introduction by Arthur Waley.

First John Lehmann Edition. London, John Lehmann Ltd., 1947. 13 cm x 19 cm. XIII, 159 pages. Original Hardcover with the rare, illustrated, original dustjacket in protective collector’s mylar. Very good condition with minor signs of external wear. The dustjacket shows some tears and fraying with minor loss to the edges. Traces of foxing on the pages and on the edges. Signed and inscribed by Harold Acton: “To the great Mr. Viereck with homage and fervent best wishes – Harold Acton”. [Second Collection of a trilogy compiled and edited by Feng Menglong in 1624].

Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton CBE (5 July 1904 – 27 February 1994) was a British writer, scholar, and aesthete who was a prominent member of the Bright Young Things. He wrote fiction, biography, history and autobiography. During his stay in China, he studied the Chinese language, traditional drama, and poetry, some of which he translated.

He was born near Florence, Italy, to a prominent Anglo-Italian family. At Eton College, he was a founding member of the Eton Arts Society before going up to Oxford to read Modern Greats at Christ Church. He co-founded the avant-garde magazine The Oxford Broom and mixed with many intellectual and literary figures of the age, including Evelyn Waugh, who based the character of Anthony Blanche in Brideshead Revisited partly on him. Between the wars, Acton lived in Paris, London, and Florence, proving most successful as a historian, his magnum opus being a three-volume study of the Medicis and the Bourbons.

After serving as an RAF liaison officer in the Mediterranean, he returned to Florence, restoring his childhood home, Villa La Pietra, to its earlier glory. Acton was knighted in 1974 and died in Florence, leaving La Pietra to New York University. (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: Acton, Harold [Bright Young Things] · Association Copies · Association Copy · Catalogue No.10 – International Literature · China · Chinese Literature · Inscribed · Inscribed Books · Peter Viereck · Peter Viereck Association · Signed · Translations
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 50667AB

EUR 1.280,--