Scoop: A Novel about Journalists

London: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1938 First edition, first issue, with the "8" in the publication date indistinct, and the "s" present in "as" to the last line of p. 88. Publisher's red and black marble-patterned cloth, lettered in gilt to spine; original red and white dust jacket with newspaper design to front panel, panels lettered in black, spine lettered in white. About near fine with a touch of fading to spine, very light spotting to top edge of text block, and front board slightly bowed; in a good dust jacket with light fading to spine, moderate chipping to spine ends with some loss to "Evelyn" and "Chapman and Hall," corners chipped, and minor edgewear with small closed tears to bottom of front panel and top of rear panel. Overall, a completely unsophisticated example of the scarce original dust jacket. Scoop is a humorous novel in which Waugh satirizes foreign correspondence and sensational journalism. Specifically, it tells the story of William Boot, an inexperienced journalist and author of a nature column for the Daily Beast. Boot is mistakenly identified as his novelist cousin and sent to the fictional East African country of Ishmaelia to cover its socialist insurrection. Ironically, Boot's naïveté allows him to get the real "scoop" not reported by more experienced journalists. Notably, Scoop is based on Waugh's own experiences working as a journalist for the British Daily Mail during Mussolini's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included.