London/Toronto/Melbourne/Sydney: Cassell, 1948. 1st UK edition hardback. 192pp, last two pages blank, endpapers blank. 8vo.

This is the first edition of this novel to appear under the title Sleep Has His House (it was originally published in New York by Doubleday as The House of Sleep). This was Kavan’s tenth book, her forth as Anna Kavan. On publication it was unsuccessful, but a series of posthumous rereleases by Peter Owen in the 1970s along with the canonisation of her final novel Ice have seen a surge in excitement around this author. Sleep Has His House prefigures that last masterpiece in a number of ways; it takes a shiftling, dreamlike landscape that is as beautiful as it is uncanny. Early editions of this book are extremely scarce, even moreso with a dustjacket still present.

Pictorial dustjacket features disquieting art showing a face moving towards the moon. Printed under postwar economic standards. Dustjacket frayed on top edge, with open tears of about 1cm. Open tear on righthand side 1.3cm. Wear from folds. Open tears to top and bottom of spine. Front flap feature a list of other books published by Cassell. Red cloth board with slightly bend corners, wear to top left of front and small hole at bottom left. Black text on spine. Contents very good.