Bows Against the Barons

London: International Publishers / Martin Lawrence Ltd. (see notes). Very Good in Very Good- dj. 1934. 1st American Edition(?) [see notes]. Hardcover. [modest wear to extremities, spine slightly turned, top edge a bit dust-soiled; jacket spine darkened, one-inch triangular chip at top of spine (losing part of the title), a bit of paper loss at lower spine extremities]. (pen and ink drawings) The writing of this "Robin Hood for Boys and Girls" was inspired by the author's discovery of a translated Russian children's book which dramatized the Soviets' first Five-Year Plan; this led him to conceive this "left-wing update of Robin Hood that showcased a radical approach to historical literature for young people" (per Wikipedia). The jacket blurb declares that Robin Hood "was not just an outlaw [but also] the leader of the dispossessed and disinherited of Merrie England, the sturdy Anglo-Saxon peasantry who were bounded off their common lands, harried and robbed by feudal barons." (The author was once quoted as stating that his purpose wasn't so much overtly political as it was "to expose even to children the falsity of the romantic Merrie England image.") This was Trease's first book, and (again from Wikipedia) was "notable for reinterpreting the Robin Hood legend and revitalizing the conventions of children's historical fiction in 20th-century Britain." (Its lefty leanings were further reinforced by the four drawings that illustrate this edition, one of which, depicting the Nottingham riot, has been said to have been inspired by Sergei Eisenstein's film THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN.) This particular edition seems to be something of a hybrid: although the title page states "London / Martin Lawrence Ltd. (the original publishers, and by the way, a house that was associated with the Communist Party of Great Britain), the imprint on the spine of the book and the dust jacket is that of International Publishers (New York, and by the way, associated with the Communist Party of the USA). The copyright page further states that it was printed in Great Britain, by Western Printing Services Ltd., Bristol, so it would appear that this edition was bound in America (in the orange cloth favored by this publisher), and had a new jacket designed (although I haven't seen an example of the original with which to compare). There is no other date besides 1934 on the copyright page, but based on the publication dates of a number of the dozen International titles listed on the rear jacket panel, as well as information supplied by a colleague who has seen a variant (likely earlier) jacket, it appears this should be considered a "second state" jacket, probably printed in 1935. (The advertised books include a children's life of Lenin ("Our Lenin"), "Men of Siberia," and of course John Reed's "Ten Days That Shook the World.") It's also notable that the rear jacket flap carries a blurb for Trease's second book "Comrades for the Charter," which was also published in England in 1934. The book has been reprinted regularly, although later editions were "revised" (i.e. somewhat de-radicalized), and remains a notable landmark in Robin Hood lit. .