THE SPLENDID IDLE FORTIES: Stories of Old California
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1902. First Edition. Hardcover. Laid in are two letters signed by Gertrude Atherton, one an autograph letter signed (ALS) and the other a typed letter signed (TLS). "As quoted by Lawrence Clark Powell, in his California Classics, bibliographer and historian Phil Townsend Hanna proclaimed Atherton’s Splendid Idle Forties as 'the finest stories ever written about early California.' While agreeing with Hanna, Powell went on to remark: 'Although romantic, mechanically plotted, and theatrical in characterization, they are nevertheless essentially faithful to history, landscape, and human motivation. They poignantly embody the drama of that crucial decade.' Her novel, along with Helen Hunt Jackson’s Ramona, gave us the popular and nostalgic Anglo-American view of Spanish California and its demise during the Gold Rush. As brought out in her novel, California, however, was not splendid for women as the ruling families and the church overly protected them, denied them worldly experience, and relegated them to subservient roles" (Gary Kurutz, The Zamorano 80 Collection of Daniel G.Volkmann Jr.). Eight halftone plates by Harrison Fisher. Octavo. Original red cloth binding, with pictorial gilt, dark green, and white stamping. Previous owner's ink signature to the front flyleaf. An especially bright copy, with a few negligible stains and some mild wear to the corners and tips. The Zamorano Eighty 1. Very good. Item #75523
Price: $250.00