Description

“ONE OF THE FOUR OR FIVE FUNNIEST COMIC NOVELS WRITTEN IN THIS CENTURY”: PRESENTATION COPY OF KINGSLEY AMIS’ FIRST NOVEL, LUCKY JIM, INSCRIBED TO AMIS’ CLOSE FRIENDS AND DRINKING PARTNERS JAMES AND ELSA BARTLEY, WHO ARE MENTIONED REPEATEDLY IN HIS MEMOIRS

AMIS, Kingsley. Lucky Jim. London: Victor Gollancz, 1953. Octavo, original green paper boards, original dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.

First edition, presentation copy, of Amis’ first and most famous novel—“brilliantly and preposterously funny” (Guardian), inscribed to his close friends James “Jo” and Elsa Bartley: “Sincerest good wishes to James and Elsa from Kingsley “these first-fruits” January 1954.”

Hailed as “one of the four or five funniest comic novels written in this century,” Lucky Jim is Kingsley Amis’ first novel, a biting satire that “brought its author fame as one of Britain’s Angry Young Men.” To writer Paul Fussell, Amis stood as one of his generation’s finest satirists “and belonged in ‘the company of Swift, Pope, Twain, Flaubert and Mencken” (New York Times). This “brilliantly and preposterously funny book” remains Amis’ best known novel (Guardian). This copy is inscribed to Amis’ close friends James and Elsa Bartley. It was they who introduced Amis to the hard-partying Welsh bourgeoisie depicted in Amis’s second novel, That Uncertain Feeling. James, better known as “Jo,” was a lecturer in English at University College, Swansea. He was a specialist in drama, particularly Irish drama, active in producing plays at the university. He was mentioned a number of times in Amis’ Memoirs and was often mentioned in his personal correspondence. Amis began his friendship was Bartley during his years as a Swansea academic and the two were well known as drinking partners. From Memoirs, page 123: “Jo Bartley was an Ulsterman who, with a Second to live down, had taught in India, one of whom it could be justly said, ‘Now that’s what I call a drinking man’ and a smoker to rival Willie Smyth. He liked food too, also women, doing his job and researching among obscure plays. This last interest produced his memorial, one of the funniest books I have ever read, ‘Teague, Shenkin and Sawney, being an historical study of the earlier Irish, Welsh and Scottish characters in English plays.” On page 12, Amis writes about a party Jo gave for some visiting African academics and quotes in full a humorous poem Jo wrote about not being able to enjoy heaven without one vital anatomical part. This poem was also sent to Robert Conquest (Letters, page 805) in 1976, nearly 10 years after Jo’s death to see if it was worth publishing. Conquest rejected it on theological as well as literary grounds, since “a chap in his condition would get his prick back at the resurrection” (Letter to Amis 19-20 August 1976). Also from Letters, “To Philip Larkin 18th October, 1954”: “Sorry this is so dull.There was one party recently, at which James Bartley had removed his shirt., ostensibly for greater coolness, actually I think to display the grey rug on his chest to the young ladies. At about 4.45 James knocked us up. He wanted a light for his cigarette. I gave him one, and he went off, bewailing his lot at full bellow.and yelling to me to testify at the inquest that he was of unsound (or sound) mind when he killed himself. ‘It may be sooner than you think,’ he bawled in valediction. Couldn’t be soon enough for me, or so I thought at the time. It is by such moments of unsought revelation that I live.” Also, 19th April 1956: “That gnarled old fool Bartley was here just now, breathing drink and waking the baby. Told me to give you his love. Said to tell you he was sorry you left Belfarts.” Also, 2nd January 1957: “You heard, I suppose, that that fool Bartley has been arrested for being drunk in charge of his car, and getting off without the defence being called. Sodding good solicitor he had.” While Amis generally recounted Bartley’s actions with some degree of contempt, Amis himself was hardly a teetotaler. Indeed, Amis and Bartley remained friends for life and this presentation copy is one expression of their mutual affection.

Book extremely good, with light foxing mainly to preliminaries and edges of text block and a bit of toning to spine. Scarce and fragile dust jacket extremely good, with slight soiling, light wear to extremities, and mild toning to spine. A most desirable inscribed copy with an outstanding provenance.