Heroines of Ancient Iran. Stories Retold from the Shāhnāma, with Fourteen Illustrations.

London: Hutchinson, 1954 Hard cover, 8vo., 111 pp. Limited edition: number 78 of an edition of 250. In publisher's orange/red cloth binding with gold decorations featuring the coat of arms of the Marquess of Winchester. First published in 1930 as "The Heroines of Ancient Persia". Include illustrations taken from various editions of the original manuscript book. Condition: Near Fine. Some ink marks to covers, and rubbing to gilt. ** Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (940 - 1019 or 1025), more commonly known as Ferdowsi or Firdausi, was the author of an epic poem of the story of Iran, the Shāhnāma or "Book of Kings". The story of its creation is itself the stuff of folklore: the Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni commissioned Ferdowsi to write the epic poem for which he was promised a gold piece for every couplet completed. Given the choice of pay-as-you-go or a lump sum on completion, Ferdowsi chose the latter. Thirty years later, he finished the poem and asked for the 60,000 gold piece recompense. The sultan produced the coins, but the courtier who was to deliver the money disliked Ferdowsi, and so replaced the gold coins with silver. Upon seeing the subterfuge, Ferdowsi gave all the money away, wrote a satire on the sultan, and fled. Years later, the sultan learned of the courtier's deception and had him executed. He then dispatched the 60,000 gold coins to the city of Tus where Ferdowsi lived - with the gold-bearing caravan enterring the city just as the funeral procession for Fersdowsi was leaving the city gates -- he had died of a heart attack. ** The author Bapsybanoo "Bapsy" Pavry (1902-1995), was the daughter of a Parsi Zoroastrian priest and orientalist. She was raised in Bombay, and educated at Columbia University in New York. In 1952, she married the 90 year old Marquess of Winchester, who subsequently abandoned her to live with Eve Fleming (mother of Ian Fleming, of James Bond fame,) in Monte Carlo. Bapsy was painted several times by Augustus John, with the c.1930 portrait being the frontispiece of this book. Scarce limited edition. OCLC 265815792.. Limited Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine.