"Octavia" 1928 OXFORD, Margot [Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith]

OXFORD, Margot [Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith]

[343] pp.

Cassell and Company London

April 1928

7 5/8" x 5 1/4"

Margot Oxford [Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith].

First edition. Hardback, octavo; black cloth-bound boards, gilt title to spine, dust jacket. viii, 343 pages. English. 195 x 130mm. 0.45kg. . Good, in poor dust jacket; significant wear to jacket, portions of spine ends lacking, light loss to forecorners, contemporary price sticker pasted to front panel, front panel detached from spine held together with tape to verso, occasional tears with tape repairs to verso, light soiling, offsetting to verso of flaps; some mottling and offsetting to boards, light spotting to endpapers and page edges, slight dustiness to top edge.

'Octavia, young, lovely, and inspiring love, had to face the eternal problem that besets a woman, what share of her life should be devoted to a man's passion, and to select one love from among many. How she finally made her choice is told with abundance of wit, freshness and charm.'

A first edition of Margot Asquith's 1928 novel, featuring a young 1920s socialite exploring life and love. It was published two months after the death of her husband, the British Prime Minister, H.H. Asquith. The dust jacket features a portrait of Asquith by Cecil Beaton; a lesser-known image from a familiar sitting. Scarce in the dust jacket in any condition.