Margaret Wilson — The Valiant Wife

New York, Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. 1934. First edition. Cloth. A superb early printing of the first US edition this romance novel by the award-winning author Margaret Wilson. The first US edition, second printing of this work in the publisher's orange cloth variant binding, with the original unclipped dust wrapper. Margaret Wilson (1882-1973) was an American novelist who won the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for The Able McLaughlins.Based on a true story, this romance novel focuses on the young Quaker Belinda and her lover Mark, a gallant American privateer who is imprisoned in Dartmoor prison.Surrounding the love story is a commentary on the problems of prison administration and reform at this time. Wilson drew from knowledge gained from her husband George Douglas Turner, who was a warden of Dartmoor Prison. In the publisher's orange cloth variant binding, with the original unclipped dust wrapper. Externally, cloth is in lovely bright condition. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean, though roughly cut. Dust wrapper remains generally smart and bright. Loss to the rear of the wrap, and chipping to the tail of the spine. Faint tidemarks to the spine and rear of the wrap. Small closed tear to the rear of the wrap. Fine . Ill.: Not Stated. Fine/Very Good Indeed.