IN A YÜN-NAN COURTYARD
New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1927. First Edition. Cloth. 8vo, yellow ribbed cloth with black lettering on spine and front cover, Mylar-protected dust jacket (unclipped) with sytlized Chinese calligraphy, 371 pages. Very Good + / Good +. Item #3603
RARE in such a Very Good copy and dust jacket, though it has defects: the blurb on the inside front flap has been cut out and pasted down on the free front endpaper, and there are some losses to its edges--mainly at the top of the spine. Previous owner's marks and return-to-owner poem on front pastedown.
"Wing--soldier, trader, lover, musician, bandit--moves gallantly through the story. A veritable Chinese Robin Hood, he has it in his power to make or mar the double romance which is unfolded in a series of thrilling events and situations. The novel has unusual timeliness: for Mrs. Miln, from long familiarity with this strange and fascinating land, has pictured the peculiar internal strife and the conflict between East and West which, together, have brought about the present crisis in China."--jacket blurb affixed to the ffe.
Born in Macomb, Illinois, Mrs. Miln [or Milne: 1864 - 1933], daughter of a physician and progressive mother, was highly popular during the 1920s and 30s for a series of novels (such as Mr. Wu; The Invisible Foe) dealing with events in China and the Far East. These appeared as that country became convulsed with warlordism that led to Chang Kai Shek's Koumentang, Japanese invasion, and the Communists led by Mao.
Her life as an actress; correspondent in a sensational divorce involving a minister; young actress who briefly played with Edwin Booth; mother of seven; traveller to the Far East; and author deserves further inspection & see: http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/article/20141017/Opinion/141019421.
Price: $40.00