Mackenzie Compton Dust Jacket by Clarke Hutton (1 results)
Language: English
Published by Chatto & Windus, London, 1966
- Hardcover
- First Edition
Seller: Arroyo Seco Books, Pasadena, Member IOBA, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A.Arroyo Seco Books, Pasadena, Member IOBA
Contact seller4-star sellerAssociation member: IOBA
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. 220 Pp. Purple Boards. First Printing. Fine, No Wear, Tiny Bump To Front Tip, Spine Ends Strong And Unbumped. Former Owner's Information Dated January 1967. Near Fine Dj, Bright And Clean, Price Clipped, Hint Of Darkening To Spine.Per Wikipedia, Sir Edwar…d Montague Compton Mackenzie, Obe ( 1883 - 1972) Was A Scottish Writer Of Fiction, Biography, Histories And A Memoir, As Well As A Cultural Commentator, Raconteur And Lifelong Scottish Nationalist. He Was One Of The Co-Founders In 1928 Of The National Party Of Scotland Along With Hugh Macdiarmid, Cunninghame Graham And John Maccormick. He Was Knighted In The 1952 Birthday Honours List. He Published Almost A Hundred Books On Different Subjects, Including Ten Volumes Of Autobiography: My Life And Times (1883-71). He Wrote History (On The Battle Of Marathon And The Battle Of Salamis), Biography (Mr Roosevelt, A 1943 Biography Of Fdr), Literary Criticism, Satires, Apologia (Sublime Tobacco 1957), Children's Stories, Poetry And So On. Of His Fiction, The Four Winds Of Love Is Sometimes Considered His Magnum Opus. He Was Admired By F. Scott Fitzgerald, Whose First Book, This Side Of Paradise, Was Written Under The Literary Influence Of Compton.Sinister Street, His Lengthy 1913-14 Bildungsroman, Influenced George Orwell And Cyril Connolly, Who Both Read It As Schoolboys. Max Beerbohm Praised Mackenzie's Writing For Vividness And Emotional Reality.[He Served With British Intelligence In The Eastern Mediterranean During The First World War, Later Publishing Four Books On His Experiences. According To These Books, He Was Commissioned In The Royal Marines, Rising To The Rank Of Captain. His Ill-Health Making Front-Line Service Impractical, He Was Assigned Counter-Espionage Work During The Gallipoli Campaign, And In 1916 Built Up A Considerable Counter-Intelligence Network In Athens, Greece Then Being Neutral. He Is Alleged To Have Taken Part In An Attempt To Assassinate The King By Poison In August 1916, During Which The Royal Palace Was To Be Surrounded By Fire To Prevent Him Escaping. While His Secret Service Work Seems To Have Been Valued Highly By His Superiors, Including Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming, His Passionate Political Views, Especially His Support For The Venizelists, Made Him A Controversial Figure And He Was Expelled From Athens Following The Noemvriana.In 1917, He Founded The Aegean Intelligence Service, And Enjoyed Considerable Autonomy For Some Months As Its Director. He Was Offered The Presidency Of The Republic Of Cerigo, Which Was Briefly Independent While Greece Was Split Between Royalists And Venizelists, But Declined The Office. He Was Recalled In September 1917. Smith-Cumming Considered Appointing Him As His Deputy, But Withdrew The Suggestion After Opposition From Within His Own Service, And Mackenzie Played No Further Active Role In The War. In 1919, He Was Appointed An Officer Of The Order Of The British Empire (Obe), And Was Also Honored With The French Legion Of Honour, The Serbian Order Of The White Eagle, And The Greek Order Of The Redeemer.After The Publication Of His Greek Memories In 1932, He Was Prosecuted The Following Year At The Old Bailey Under The Official Secrets Act For Quoting From Supposedly Secret Documents.The Matter Was Raised In Parliament And A New Version Of Greek Memories Was Eventually Published In 1939.In 2011 Biteback Published The Original 1932 Edition Of Greek Memories, Including The Secret Intelligence Service Memo Detailing The Offending Passages Of The Book.
