FIRSTS ONLINE Winter 2020

17. SOMERVILLE, E. OE, and ROSS, Martin [pseud.
MARTIN, Violet]
Mount Music
London: Longmans, Green & Co.,1919
8vo, pp. 309. Original green boards, lettered in black to front panel and
gilt to spine. Illustrated dustwrapper. Dustwrapper design by the author.
Lettering faded to spine, offsetting to endpapers, corners a trifle bumped,
but a very good copy in a very good dustwrapper, chip to foot of spine, which
is browned, a couple of small closed tears and light edgewear.
First edition, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR TO TITLE PAGE, AND
ADDITIONALLY INSCRIBED TO HER NIECE: ‘Katharine, from D.,
Christmas 1928.’ ‘D’ was the family diminuitive for Edith. The recipient
was Katharine Johnston (née Coghill).
Violet Martin, Edith Somerville’s lifelong companion and pseudonymous
writing partner, died in 1915, four years before the publication of this
volume. In a prefatory note to the book Somerville writes:
‘This book was planned some years ago by Martin Ross and myself. A
few portions of it were written, and it was then put aside for other work.
Without her help and inspiration, it would not have been begun, and
could not have been completed. I feel, therefore, that to join her name
with mine on the title-page is my duty, as well as my pleasure.’
For the rest of her life Somerville, believer in the afterlife and regular
attender of seances, continued to publish her solo novels under the
authorial description of ‘Somerville and Ross’.
Very scarce in dustwrapper, this copy is also signed and comes with a
fine family association.
£650
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