TO BEG I AM ASHAMED.

COUSINS, Sheila. ( Ronald Matthews.) ( Graham Greene.)

Published by Kitabistan, Allahabad, 1938

About this Item

8vo. pp 285. First Indian edition--rare and exotic. Billed on the front of the jacket as 'the authentic autobiography of a London prostitute.' Publication was stopped in England due to the sexual subject matter (most copies were seized and only a few are known to have survived). It was published in France by Obelisk, in New York by Vanguard and in India by Kitabistan. Writing of the Obelisk Press Paris edition Neil Pearson in his authoritatative bibliography dismisses the idea that Greene (a close friend of Ronald Matthews) co-wrote this. It is likely that he may have contributed a few passages, and elsewhere (Mockler) it is suggested that he may have looked it over and suggested improvements. Certainly he hung out in seedy parts of London with Matthews and went on pub crawls with him. Matthew chronicles his time with GG in his 1957 oeuvre 'Mon Ami Graham Greene.' The inner front flap of the jacket notes that the London papers called the book 'Salacious" "Poisonous" and "Disgraceful" - Kitabistan seem to have gone in for publishing slightly risque works - the rear wrap advertises Diana Frederics Lesbian book "Diana: A Strange Autobiography." Original publisher's crimson cloth, lettered black on spine and cover, some very slight fading at top and bottom of spine o/w sound clean Very good plus copy in slightly chipped and nicked near very good jacket with an inch or more loss at lower spine - still a handsome example.

Seller Inventory # C15741

Bibliographic Details

• Title: TO BEG I AM ASHAMED.
• Publisher: Kitabistan, Allahabad
• Publication Date: 1938
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included