The Becker Wives & other stories by Mary Lavin

Signed by the author on the title page thus: "Mary Lavin Bective"; Michael Joseph 1946 1st ed, 223pp., text in acceptable condition with slight browning to pages along with the odd stain, small creases to the top and bottom of pages, slight creasing to the top left hand side of page 220 & to the top right hand side of page 223 - noticeably larger to the top right hand side of page 221, foxing and spotting to the rear end papers & to the preceding two pages, some staining and creasing to the front free end paper (not affecting the signature), including to the top right hand corner, mark to the top left hand corner of the front free end paper and original book seller's label affixed to the bottom right hand corner of same ("GREENE & Co. 16 CLARE STREET DUBLIN"), front hinge slightly loose but holding, "dustiness"/staining/browning/spotting to the page extremities at the very top, slightly less so to those at the side and bottom, spine heavily cocked, heavy bumping and rubbing to board corners, bumping/rubbing/staining to the top, bottom and sides of boards and to the
top and bottom of the spine, both boards & spine are heavily marked and stained. An acceptable copy.

Comprised of four short stories – ‘The Becker Wives’, ‘The Joy Ride’, ‘A Happy Death’ and ‘Magenta’ – this collection is one of Lavin’s most celebrated. Together, these stories capture the frustrations and grace of characters struggling to free themselves in places that are often hostile to their desires: a new bride coming home to her husband’s prim family, two butlers taking a rare opportunity to go out drinking, a woman pleading with her dying husband to repent, and a young housekeeper whose fortunes seem to have suddenly changed.


Mary Josephine Lavin (10 June 1912 – 25 March 1996) wrote short stories and novels. An Irishwoman, she is now regarded as a pioneer in the field of women's writing. The well-known Irish writer Lord Dunsany mentored Lavin after her father approached him on her behalf to discuss with him some stories she had written. Her subject matter often dealt explicitly with concerns of women, as well as a deep Catholic faith (she attended a convent school in Dublin). She is particularly noteworthy for her stories on the topic of widowhood,
which are acknowledged to be among her finest. Her husband died in 1954, little over a decade into his marriage. She remarried in 1969. Her second husband, who before his marriage to Lavin had been living abroad, died in 1991 and she was once again a widow, remaining so until her death five years later.


Will ship by Royal Mail 1st Class Signed for, well packaged.



(£5.39/fonteyn)