5 Pens In Hand

Robert Graves

Published by Doubleday & Company, 1958

About this Item

Only published in the United States, and not much seen in the UK, an entertaining and stimulating collection of 64 lectures, essays, stories, poems and 'historical anomalies' by Robert Graves, all pieces from the mid-1950s. Not an easy book to summarise, but every page has something of interest, so reading it is probably best treated as an expedition, in line with Graves' own practice: "a search for particular facts to nourish, or to scotch, some obsessive maggot that has gained a lodgement in my skull" - from The Abominable Mr Gunn in this collection. Earlier on, in a fascinating piece in the Lectures section, Graves recounts the origins of his famous book The White Goddess. He was working on a novel about the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece, "when a sudden overwhelming obsession interrupted me. It took the form of an unsolicited enlightenment on a subject I knew almost nothing of". This subject was "a mysterious 'Battle of the Trees', allegedly fought in prehistoric Britain" and within three weeks he found he had written "a 70,000-word book about the ancient Mediterranean Moon-goddess whom Homer invoked in the Iliad, and whom one of his sons, or (as some prefer to think) one of his daughters, invoked in the Odyssey". And, that being just the start, off he goes, on a tour de force of the ways of inspiration. In short this is a book for anyone who enjoys well-written displays of enthusiasm and wide-ranging curiosity. The volume itself is still in very good condition, tightly bound, with no markings to the text. The pages are very mildly browned at the very outer edges. There's an attractive bookplate (from The Ostergaards) neatly pasted inside the front end board. The boards are a little bit rubbed at the corners and at the top and bottom of the spine. The dust jacket - now protected with acetate - shows more signs of shelf wear and handling, chiefly around the edges, with some chafing in all the usual places and some mild creasing at the top and bottom outer corners of the back cover. The front inner flap has been price-clipped. The back inner flap has a bit of spotting. Please take a look at the photos to be supplied. Seller Inventory # 000941

Bibliographic Details

Title: 5 Pens In Hand

Publisher: Doubleday & Company

Publication Date: 1958

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Good

Edition: 1st Edition