WODEHOUSE, P.G. Bill the Conqueror.

Featuring Pyke and Pilbeam

WODEHOUSE, P.G. Bill the Conqueror. New York: George H. Doran Company. [1925].

8vo. Publisher’s orange cloth lettered and decorated in green to spine and upper board; pp. 323, [1 (blank)], in the unclipped dust-jacket priced $2.00 net to spine; spine ends slightly bumped, a few nicks to jacket with losses to head of spine measuring 10 x 10 mm and 30 x 30 mm affecting three letters of title; uniform light toning; a very good copy; contemporary bookplate of Nellie L. Whitman to front pastedown, gift inscription ‘“Mother Whit” | Love and best wishes | Ella K. Litchfield’ dated 18 August 1926 to front free endpaper.

First US edition, first printing, of the novel following the adventures of ex-Harvard footballer William ‘Bill’ Paradene West.

Subtitled ‘His invasion of England in the Springtime’, this novel features publishing magnate Sir George Alexander Pyke (later Lord Tilbury) and his employee Percy Pilbeam, who make later appearances at Blandings Castle in Heavy Weather (1933) and Summer Lighting (1929), respectively. The story had been previously serialised in the US in The Saturday Evening Post from 24 May to 12 July 1924. The first edition in book form was published by the London publisher Methuen on 13 November 1924.

McIlvaine A33b.

SKU: 2126337