Charles Morgan — Ode to France

London, Macmillan and Co. Limited, 1942. Leather. A signed limited edition poem by Charles Morgan, a beautiful ode to the country of France at the end of the war. A limited edition work, limited to five hundred copies, of which this is numbered one-hundred and fifty-five.Signed by the author to the limitation page.A moving poem by Charles Morgan penned towards the end of the Second World War, an ode to France as it was towards the end of its occupation.Morgan was a notable playwright and poet of the first half of the twentieth century, known for 'The Burning Glass', 'A Breeze of Morning', and more.In a striking binding by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Pleydell-Bouverie was a close friend of Stanley Bray, who worked at the firm for over 60 years. He often bound books for her as gifts.From the library of Audrey Pleydell-Bouverie, from her library at Julians Park, Hertfordshire. After being widowed at 25, Audrey married the fabulously wealthy American department store heir, Marshall Field III, later divorcing him and marrying the Honorable Peter Pleydell-Bouverie. In 1940 she bought Julians Park and redesigned the interior. Her library was impressive, with many examples of her own bookbinding.Audrey was an extravagant socialite and renowned beauty, the illegitimate granddaughter of King Edward VII (though she was also rumoured to be his daughter, or the lover of King Edward VIII), featured in the 'Book of Beauty' by Cecil Beaton. She had many high profile friends, such as Winston Churchill, Coco Chanel, Fred Astaire, and Nancy Mitford, a sparkling hostess of the Edwardian period, her hedonistic antics bringing her into the Bright Young Things. In a half crushed morocco Sangorski & Sutcliffe binding with marbled paper to the boards. Externally, smart, with a few very light marks to the boards and spine. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Fine . Ill.: None. Fine .