WAUGH, Evelyn Black Mischief. Chapman and Hall, Ltd. 1932.
8vo. Original red and black marbled cloth, lettered in gilt on spine; frontispiece of the ficitonal Azanian Empire; [8] vii- [2] 10-303 [1]; small green stamp of previous bookshop 'The Holliday' to pastedown; a very good copy (without dust wrapper).
First edition.
Black Mischief is set off the coast of North-East Africa on the fictional island of Azania and chronicles the countrys conversion to modernisation under the infuence of a certain Emperor Seth and Basil Seal. Waugh was inspired by his travels in Abyssinia, British East Africa and the Congo in late 1930-1931 during which he was shocked at the attempts to subcribe to a European model of civilisation as a method to evolve. During the novel, Basil observes that 50 years prior to this cruel attempt to modernise Azania would have instead invovled democratic change; "it would have meant constitutional monarchy, bi-cameral legislature, proportional representation, women’s suffrage, independent judicature, freedom of the press, referendums […] Just a few ideas that have ceased to be modern"- rather than the many facets of violence that ensue. Instead, the novel was reprinted for German readers by the European firm Albatross in 1933 in great volume and this edition darkly titled the book as encapsulating 'Utopia'.
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