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SMITH, CLARE SYDNEY: : THE GOLDEN REIGN: THE STORY OF MY FRIENDSHIP WITH "LAWRENCE OF ARABIA"

LONDON.CASSELL,1940.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,8vo HB,minus dw/dj,1st edn.GOOD+.Owner inked inscrptn (name) to front free endpaper and minus its issued dw/dj.Publisher's original green cloth boards bright,blocked gilt letters to a grubbed,stained and darkened spine/backstrip - of which - both head+foot of same - have bumping with reciprocal creasing,small splits with some miniscule loss and further rubbing and fraying. All corners bumped and all extremity edges with a narrow strip of sunning and browning; upper board with partial cup ring residue and other spots+stains,rear board much cleaner and clearer without spots/stains.Plain white endpapers - both sets of free endpapers with off-set shadow foxing.Top+fore-edges though slightly toned/aged are generally reasonable with minimal,faint, sporadic foxing/spotting; contents fairly clean - some random,intermittent,foxing/spotting to some pages' edges,no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB,minus dw/dj,1st edn,v-viipp+1-252pp [paginated] includes a foreword by Mrs S. Lawrence (mother of Colonel T. E. Lawrence),an illustrations list/table,XXXIV(34) chapters,25 half-tone illustrations/photographs interspersed throughout the text and the book,an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title,T.E.Shaw b/w portrait frntis,and title page. Uncommon,local example in a book of this age and given the period following it's original production, i.e. 1942-1946 - survival rates of air-raids that Plymouth was to endure - increasing it's scarcity by default. A highly collected subject,topic and theme on all things Lawrencean and an unusual,uncommon and scarce ephemeral Lawrence-related item and will be an important and welcome addition to the T.E. Lawrence canon. Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935) found fame as instigator,organizer,hero,and tragic figure of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War,which he began as an eccentric junior intelligence officer and ended as "Lawrence of Arabia." This time defined Lawrence with indelible experience and celebrity,which he spent the rest of his famously short life struggling to reconcile and reject,to recount and repress. First published in 1940,'The Golden Reign' provides a personal perspective on Lawrence's enigmatic character through the revealing lens of friendship.In a state of nervous exhaustion following the First World War,his work on the post-war settlement,and writing and re-writing 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom'. In 1922,Lawrence enlisted in the ranks of the R.A.F. under the name of John Hume Ross.In January 1923 his identity became public and he was discharged from the R.A.F.,but allowed to re-enlist two and a half years later,this time using the surname "Shaw",under which he had meanwhile served in the Tank Corps.He remained an Aircraftman for much of the rest of his life. The friendship about which the author writes in 'The Golden Reign' was the product of Lawrence's life as "Aircraftman Shaw".The author,Clare Sydney Smith,was the wife of Lawrence's Commanding Officer at Mountbatten. R.A.F. station Mountbatten,a peninsula in Plymouth Sound,Devon,was "one of the most enjoyable of Lawrence s postings." (Wilson,Lawrence, pp.850 - biography). There is no doubt that Clare's friendship and their trips along the coastline in Lawrence's speedboat,the 'Biscuit',formed a considerable portion of Lawrence's rare happiness at this time.As one of Lawrence's dear friends in the last years of his life,Clare wrote,"our accepting him,not as a personage but as a human being,made direct contact possible and laid the foundation for a friendship based on simple love and understanding,which he himself called "The Golden Reign". Please contact seller for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** UK,buyers note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if item(s) offered P/p included or free. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIR postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book/item! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. 2/3rds of standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving long before the quoted 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB,minus dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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