Flush: A Biography

London: The Hogarth Press, 1933 With four Original Drawings by Vanessa Bell and six other Illustrations. First edition, first printing, with "Large Paper Edition" printed on the dust jacket. Demy 8vo. Publisher's pale buff cloth, with spine lettered in gilt; in its original cream dust jacket with illustration of dog to front panel. Very good book, with light soiling to cloth, and some soiling to verso of final page (p. 163) and rear front free endpaper; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine and panel edges, light wear to spine ends, and a couple of small closed tears to rear panel. Overall, a very pleasing copy. Kirkpatrick A19a. Woolmer 334. Flush is the fictional biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's cocker spaniel. While reading Elizabeth Barrett's love letters with Robert Browning, Woolf was inspired by the descriptions of the cocker spaniel, Flush, who kept the poet company while she was ill and was ever-present throughout the development of Browning and Barrett's relationship. Woolf, who had long had an affinity for animals and pets, decided to create a fictional story about the dog's life from his youth in the country to his adoption by Barrett and his subsequent life in the city. Although it is a topically lighthearted tale, Woolf uses Flush as a basis for social commentary, specifically about urban living and feminism. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included. Illus. by Bell, Vanessa.