Between the Covers

Hardcover. First edition. Slight sunning at the extremities, top corners a tad bumped, very good or better without dustwrapper. Inscribed by the author: "To Adèle and Bob with love from Phil, 12 June 1930." Adèle Lovett was a glamorous socialite, a B player in the Algonquin Round Table, a friend of Dorothy Parker's, and reportedly the lover of Robert Benchley; her husband Bob was a businessman and later Secretary of Defense in the 1950s, succeeding George Marshall, and directing the Korean War in that capacity. A moderate commercial success, some critics and scholars consider this Barry's best work. Set in a locale based on the Murphy's Villa America, and peopled with an urbane and attractive dramatis personae, the cast grapples with existential despair and tries to fathom meaning in their lives or, failing that, in the universe. A nice association.

Item #347387