Description
A first paperback edition of The Less Deceived by Philip Larkin, published by The Marvell Press, Hessle in 1955. A near fine copy with a gift inscription in blue ink to the front free end paper, additionally the name, place and date by the recipient written in black ink to the front free end paper, the soft covers a little bumped to edges, some spotting to the top board. In a very good unclipped wrapper with bumping to the top edge, chipping to the spine tips, chipping to the knuckles of front and rear flap folds, fading to the spine with damp-staining to the spine and rear panel.
Philip Larkin’s The Less Deceived established him as a distinctive voice in postwar British poetry. Its poems examine love, work, mortality and the uneasy passage of time with plain speech, dry wit and exact observation. Including “Church Going”, “Toads” and “Next, Please”, the collection finds significance in ordinary places and private disappointments. Larkin’s measured rhythms and sceptical intelligence give these reflections an enduring and deeply unsettling emotional force.
