Devil of a State

London, Melbourne and Toronto: Heinemann, 1961. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8" by 5.5". None. An excellent first edition of Anthony Burgess' novel, drawing upon his experiences living in Brunei in the late 1950s. The fourth of Burgess' 'exotic novels', the novel was set in an imaginary caliphate named Dunia, and follows an Italian father and son who are in the process of constructing an enormous mosque from marble. This was the author's seventh work, predating his classic 'A Clockwork Orange' by two years.Written by British writer Anthony Burgess, best known for his satire 'A Clockwork Orange'. As well as being a prolific novelist and translator, Burgess composed over two hundred and fifty musical works, although his success as a writer was far greater.From the library of Audrey Pleydell-Bouverie, an English socialite and the illegitimate granddaughter of King Edward VII. She was featured by Cecil Beaton in 'The Book of Beauty'. Amongst her circle were Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Coco Chanel, Salvador Dali, Winston and Clementine Churchill and Nancy Mitford.A first edition, first impression, complete with a bright and unclipped dust wrapper. In the publisher's original full cloth binding with an unclipped dust wrapper. Externally very smart, with just a touch of bumping to the tail of the spine. Dust wrapper is a touch sunned to the spine, with just minor bumping to the head of the spine and a small closed tear to the head of the rear board, but is otherwise in excellent condition. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Near Fine