The Apes of God

New York: Robert M. McBride, 1932. First Printing. Hardcover. Fine-/Near Fine+. First American Edition (First published, February, 1932, on copyright page) of Lewis's satire of the postwar bohemian elite. 8vo: [4],625,[3]pp. Publisher's grey cloth, the spine and upper cover titled and trimmed in red, with a red top stain and untrimmed fore- and bottom edges; in the original dust jacket lettered in red and decorated in green by Lewis with vorticist figures, priced at $3.00. About Fine, square, tight and bright; Near Fine or better jacket that has benefitted from very skillful restoration to spine panel (not involving lettering or design). A superb survival. By the mid-Twenties, having established himself as an avant-garde painter and writer, Lewis launched (with Ezra Pound) the abstract-art movement Vorticism. In the Apes of God, he argued that art had been betrayed into the hands of moneyed amateurs who debased its high calling by writing for coteries, thus destroying cultural standards. Particular targets were the Bloomsbury Group and its acolytes. The novel depicts a moronic naif, Daniel Boleyn, as he makes his way through the various echelons of London's artistic bohemia under the guidance of a mentor, Horace Zagreus. A wide range of figures (many loosely based on actual writers and artists) and styles are satirized, and the novel ends in a stricken London during the General Strike of 1926. (adapted from Literary Encyclopedia) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).