The Broken Root

London: Faber & Faber, 1951. First edition. Cloth. Very Good Indeed/Good. 8" by 5.5". Not Stated. A smart, first edition copy of this work on the political climate of Spain after the Franco regime, in the original unclipped dust wrapper. Written by Spanish journalist and Republican sympathiser Arturo Barea. He lived and worked in Spain during his younger years, volunteering in the Republican militia and reporting on the chaos as the Franco regime seized power. In his later years, he moved to Great Britain and worked for the BBC where he met George Orwell, who offered Barea high praise for his literary skills. This work is a fictionalised account of what Spain becomes after the Franco takeover, and Barea imagines what life is now like there, long after he has left. The work was translated by Isla Barea. In the uncommon, original unclipped dust wrapper. Containing an ink inscription from a previous owner to the front free-endpaper: 'To Tim, With Lots of Love, From Linda, xxxx, Xmas 1954'.  In the publisher's original cloth binding. Externally, smart, with minor shelf wear and a few small marks to the boards. Unclipped dust wrapper is good colour, with a few small tears to the extremities and a small amount of loss to the tail of the spine. Tape has been used to repair a few of the tears to the interior of the wrap. Internally, firmly bound. A slight but of offsetting to the free-endpapers, otherwise pages are bright and clean. Very Good Indeed