INDIA ' S LOVE LYRICS BY LAURENCE HOPE/ VIOLET NICOLSON, ILLUST BY BYAM SHAW, HB
Item History & Price
FEATURED: A beautifully illustrated book of exotic and slightly sensual poetry, INDIA'S LOVE LYRICS, by VIOLET ( ADELA FLORENCE) NICOLSON, writing as LAWRENCE HOPE, and strikingly illustrated by BYAM SHAW, is about love and relationships, unrequited love, racism, same-sex attraction and love, violence, themes that are so relevant to today's world and yet were written in Edwardian ( late 1800's) times by a wife of a British military officer in India during the B...ritish rule there, a woman who spoke fluent Urdu, lived in India for most of her adult life, was fascinated by Indian customs, its culture and history, and took her settings for these really interesting poems from Indian and Sufi mythology, also folklore and her own fascination with occult sciences, Eastern religions- interested in anything but the boring life of a typical British military wife. In order to get these published and recognized, she used the nom de plume Lawrence Hope, writing as a man, which worked very successfully- her poems inspired silent films (Mary Pickford), popular music, art and even the famous perfume Shalimar was said to be inspired by this book with its exotic, sensual ideas and beautiful illustrations! Martha Graham, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shaw, and Michio Ito were world-famous dancers who also were inspired by these writings and the gorgeous illustrations, some of Shaw's best! We are transported in this book to the India of the British Empire years, and to the India of mystery, with its many centuries of passion, exotic beauty and eternal conflicts of the sexes, classes and race; the authoress was called a 'decadent Kipling' by her critics, and this book was very, very popular for many years in early 20th century- she was really a superstar poet during that period, even though she is not nearly as well known today as then. This book, which includes the 'Garden of Kama', is a fascinating read, and made even more so by the detailed, exotic artwork throughout it. Her life played out as if a poem in this book- her beloved much older husband, who supported her unorthodox style and behavior, her independence and writing, died during routine surgery, and fighting a lifelong battle with depression, she committed suicide at age 39 in her beloved India. What a read, not only as poems, but capturing intense feelings and insights into relationships not often talked about or explored in the late 1800's! And the art- wow! BYAM SHAW, influenced greatly by the Pre-Raphaelites, was a tour de force of an artist, working in theater, stained glass for cathedrals, an art teacher, an illustrator who did war cartoons in WWI, and died of the Flu in the 1918 Flu Pandemic. This book is such a great collection of his wonderful work, capturing perfectly the mysticism and exotica of India and these great intense poems.
MEASURES: 9.5 inches X 12.25 inches; 158 pages printed on deckle paper, adding to the exotic flair of this book, INDIA'S LOVE LYRICS, written by Violet Nicolson, aka Adela Florence Nicolson, writing as Lawrence Hope, published in this edition in 1920 by John Lane Co, NY. This wonderful book is in fair condition, partially because a previous owner pressed 4-leaf clovers into the pages and left them, causing discolorations on some pages, and age & storage foxing noted on others, with some typical, normal wear to a book that has been enjoyed and read over the years, and cherished, too. Still a beautiful copy of a hugely successful book in its day, and with glorious, very colorful and detailed full-page plates, and one we feel you will want to read, enjoy, think about, and read again. A book written over one hundred years ago, and perhaps a book written for today's world.
We pack your valuables with care for safety and security.
MEASURES: 9.5 inches X 12.25 inches; 158 pages printed on deckle paper, adding to the exotic flair of this book, INDIA'S LOVE LYRICS, written by Violet Nicolson, aka Adela Florence Nicolson, writing as Lawrence Hope, published in this edition in 1920 by John Lane Co, NY. This wonderful book is in fair condition, partially because a previous owner pressed 4-leaf clovers into the pages and left them, causing discolorations on some pages, and age & storage foxing noted on others, with some typical, normal wear to a book that has been enjoyed and read over the years, and cherished, too. Still a beautiful copy of a hugely successful book in its day, and with glorious, very colorful and detailed full-page plates, and one we feel you will want to read, enjoy, think about, and read again. A book written over one hundred years ago, and perhaps a book written for today's world.
We pack your valuables with care for safety and security.
