Santmyer AND LADIES OF THE CLUB 1st ed OSU 1982

Santmyer, Helen Hooven. "...AND THE LADIES OF THE CLUB". Columbus OH: The Ohio State University Press, 1982. FIRST EDITION.  Thick 8vo. 1344 pp. Hardbound in red cloth, gilt titles on spine, cream endpapers sprigged with red flowers, vines, and necklaces. Pictorial dust jacket. Edition of only 2000 copies before a trade issue by Putnam's.

Collectible copy from the small first edition of a 1300-page epic of four generations of life in a rural Ohio town. The book, published when the author was 87 years old, was was reissued soon after in paperback and was on the bestseller list for 37 consecutive weeks, holding the number-1 position for 7 weeks.

Santmyer (1895-1986) was an Ohio native who attended Oxford U. in England as one of the very first female Rhodes Scholars. She was a published poet and literature teacher at Wellesley College before becoming Dean and Woman and head of the Cedarville U. English Department. Despite being afflicted with debilitating illhesses, she published three books before this one (Herbs and Apples, Ohio Town, and The Fierce Dispute, and a fourth, Farewell Summer, was published posthumously). But this saga was the work she had wanted to accomplish throughout her life - and once she was freed of the necessity of earning a living every day, she worked on it in earnest for about 10 years. The public response was overwhelming - the book captured people's imagination, not only because of the content but because of the life story of the author and the fact that she had achieved her dream late in life.

CONDITION: As New.

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SHIPPING: Book is heavy and oversized. For International shipping outside the USA, please contact us for a quote. 

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