AUDEN, W.H. Collected poems.
Edited by Edward Mendelson.
London, Faber and Faber, 1976.
Large 8vo, pp. 696; a very good copy in publisher’s green cloth, gilt-lettered spine, green dust-jacket lettered in white; slight wear to extremities, dust-jacket chipped and worn; from the library of Denis Healey.
First edition. Denis Healey’s copy, with his signature dated 1976 to front free endpaper, his occasional marginal pencil marks, and a few notes to rear pastedown. Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey (1917-2015) served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1980 to 1983.
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First and only edition of a disastrous poetical project, the folly of the distinguished educationalist James Elphinston, who nevertheless attracted a host of distinguished subscribers including Samuel Johnson and Adam Smith. ‘Garrick declared it the most extraordinary of all translations ever attempted, and told Johnson, who had lacked the courage to do the like, that he had advised Elphinston not to publish it. Elphinston’s brother-in-law, Strahan, the printer, sent him a subscription of £50 and offered to double it if he would refrain from publishing ... Beattie spoke of the book as “a whole quarto of nonsense and gibberish”, and Burns addressed the author in the following epigram (Letter to Clarinda, 1788): “O thou whom poesy abhors, Whom prose has turned out of doors! Heardst thou that groan? proceed no further, ’Twas laurelled Martial roaring murther!”’ (DNB).