Wand Of Noble Wood

London: Hutchinson, 1961. First Edition. Hard Cover. Dust Jacket. First UK Edition. Publisher's black boards with author's name and publisher in gilt and title in white, to the spine. Offsetting to both sets of end-papers and the pastedown side of the FEP has "Martin Banham* (Review copy - Review of English Literature Apl. 1962)" written in ink else VG+. The VG dustwrapper is browned/ worn/ frayed at tips of spine, corners similarly so, the hinge of the front inner flap has a faint tide mark running along from top to bottom (not that obvious) and several minor dark brown spots to the back panel (how these were caused is anyone's guess); the back panel is reasonably clean otherwise. The cream/white lettering to the spine is toned (as usually found). It looks nicer than it sounds and the dustwrapper is complete. First book. N. B.: This book was later reprinted by Heinemann as part of their African Writers Series. "In 1961, Ekwensi and Achebe, the two Igbo fathers of the Nigerian novel, were joined by Onuora Nzekwu with a full-size novel, A Wand of Noble Wood, which was rightly hailed as a promise of future prosperity for Nigerian creative writing in English" (Gérard). Gerard asserts that "this was the first modern novel in which an attempt was made to render the specific quality of traditional life, a trend which remained Nzekwu's peculiar theme". Nzekwu was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship in 1961, a UNESCO Fellowship in 1964, and in 2008 he was conferred with the honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON). Albert S. Gérard, European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1986". The novel has been compared to Achebe's "No Longer at Ease". The novel is deeply descriptive and explanatory of Ibo culture, one critic even describing it as "ostensibly a novel which contains as much anthropological explanation as any reader could desire". The examination of traditional culture becomes a thematic emphasis, with deep exploration of topics like tribal marriage. Martin Banham is the Emeritus Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at the University of Leeds. He has a special interest in theatre and performance culture of Africa. Photographs/scans available upon request.