London; The Hogarth Press, 1934. 8vo., pale green cloth lettered in darker green to spine; front endpaper map showing the Island of Storn; together in the pictorial dustwrapper, both drawn by Ben Nicolson; the front panel showing a photograph of a seagull; pp. [x], 11-317, [i]; a very good copy, lightly spotted to edges, with previous ownership inscription in ink to the front free endpaper; the very good dustwrapper with some overall shelfwear and darkening; lightly nicked and chipped to edges, particularly head and foot of spine and folds; one closed tear to the lower panel (3.5cm approx.).

First UK edition.

Written in the stream-of-consciousness style which had at the time been popularised by Sackville-West’s friend, companion and lover Virginia Woolf, The Dark Island was the author’s ninth novel. Highly experimental in style, the plot follows protagonist Shirin, who marries the owner of ‘The Dark Island’, Storn, and follows her through a period of four decades in her life; sixteen, twenty-six, thirty-six , and forty-six. In many ways semi-autobiographical, the character of the protagonist mirrors Sackville-West’s own strength of character, love of place bordering on obsession (Shirin with the island, Sackvile-West with her beloved Sissinghurst), and the complex nature of their marriages. The wrapper and endpaper map is provided by the author’s son, Benedict, who was at the time 20 years old.

Scarce in the dustwrapper.