The Loved One; A Laurel Edition
New York: Dell, [1974]. Paperback (7 inches tall), original pictorial wrappers, all edges blue. Faint university bookstore (USC) ink-stamp to first leaf, touch of wear to corners, mild toning to uncreased spine. Nearly-Fine. Item #157
"I AM ENTIRELY OBSESSED BY FOREST LAWNS"
"New Dell" paperback edition of Evelyn Waugh's Rablesian satire of Hollywood—featuring illustrations of a pet cemetery by Charles Addams. An unused and fresh copy, with an un-creased spine.
The Loved One was begun in the aftermath of Waugh's brief stint in Hollywood, where he became fascinated with a pet cemetery in Los Angeles. America, Waugh wrote, was "Substitute Land...a place of second-hand experience, phony culture, 'debased' language, and 'counterfeit' art. But the pet cemetery at Forest Lawn was 'an entirely unique place—the only thing in California that is not a copy of something else" (Paul Elie). First published in 1948—originally with illustrations by Stuart Boyle—this mass-market paperback edition (based on the 1948 Little Brown edition) reprints comments from contemorary reviewers. This edition acknowleges Waugh original dedication, "To Nancy Mitford," but omits the original subtitle: "An Anglo-American Tragedy." Paul Elie. You Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage.
Price: $12.00