THE LOVED ONE. An Anglo-American Tragedy. Illustrated by Stuart Boyle.
London: Chapman & Hall. No Date [1948]. First Edition, First Impression. Hardcover. Octavo, original black cloth, gilt titles in Gothic Type on spine panel. Frontispiece and black & white illustrations throughout, all by Boyle, printed marbled endpapers, top page edges stained blue. 144 pp. A very nearly fine copy in like dust jacket, price corner (7s. 6d. Net) intact. A very nice copy. Fine in Dust Jacket. Item #311571
¶ A short, satirical novel by British novelist Evelyn Waugh about the funeral business in Los Angeles, the British expatriate community in Hollywood, and the film industry. THE LOVED ONE was written as a result of Evelyn Waugh's trip to Hollywood in February and March 1947. At this time he wrote "I found a deep mine of literary gold in the cemetery of Forest Lawn and the work of the morticians and intend to get to work immediately on a novelette staged there." Forest Lawn's founder, Dr. Hubert Eaton, and his staff gave Waugh tours of the facility and introduced him to their field. Waugh also had a copy of Eaton's book, Embalming Techniques, which Waugh annotated with marginalia. As Waugh felt that the eschatological or apocalyptic implications he had intended in Brideshead Revisited had escaped many American readers, he was determined to highlight eschatological aspects of American society in THE LOVED ONE.
Price (USD): $100.00