My Mortal Enemy.
New York: Knopf, 1926.
8vo, 132, (1, colophon)pp. Original quarter linen with patterned paper-covered boards, and plain card slipcase. Spare label still on front pastedown. Corners a bit bumped, backstrip and label toned and slightly worn. A very good, unopened copy.
§ First edition, limited issue, one of 220 signed copies. Cather’s eighth and darkest novel. Charles Johanningsmeier in Cather Studies notes: “For many years, scholars have regarded My Mortal Enemy as somewhat of an enigma. Written in only a few months during the early spring of 1925 and published both serially and in book form in 1926, Cather's shortest novel was sandwiched in between The Professor's House (1925) and Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927). While the subject matter of these latter two works can be traced to Cather's experience of and growing interest in the desert Southwest, My Mortal Enemy seemingly has nothing to do with these subjects or her Nebraska roots; it appears to have come out of nowhere, baffling those who have tried to fit this rather anomalous work into a logical progression of Cather's artistic development.”. Item #126942
Price: $650.00