The Loom of Youth

London: Grant Richards, 1917. Hardcover. Good. First edition. Original blue cloth. Spine faded and with a half-inch tear at top, binding a bit askew, a good or better copy lacking the rare dust jacket. First edition of the first book by Evelyn Waugh's older brother, *The Loom of Youth* was written in six and a half weeks while Alec Waugh was in the military during World War I, and is reportedly the first novel to refer explicitly to homosexual relations in English public schools (the author attended the Sherborne School). It was published when Alec Waugh was 19 years old in service overseas and became an immediate sensation. *The Loom of Youth* is dedicated to the author's father Arthur Waugh, an author in his own right and a director
of the Chapman & Hall publishing house. This copy bears a presentation inscription from the dedicatee, Arthur Waugh to one of the leading writers of the day: "Arnold Bennett from Arthur Waugh. In memory of good talks in better days. July 23, 1917." With the book label of Arnold Bennett. Chapman & Hall had published Bennett's *The Old Wives' Tale* in 1908. Alec Waugh would go on to write some 50 books during a career that spanned nearly 65 years, the best known being the novel *Island in the Sun*.