EGGS, BEANS AND CRUMPETS.

Toronto: Longmans, Green, 1940. 284 pp, + (4 pp), small 8vo (7 3/8" H), orange cloth with black lettering on spine. "In the heart of London's clubland there stands a tall and grimly forbidding edifice known to taxi-drivers and the elegant young men who frequent its precincts as the Drones Club. Yet its somewhat austere exterior belies the atmosphere of cheerful optimism and bonhomie that prevails within. For here it is that young gallants of Mayfair forgather for the pre-luncheon bracer and to touch lightly on the topics of the day. But all is not idle chatter that passes at this hour of the morning snifter - life in its sterner aspects often comes under review and is discussed with a candour that loosens tongues and encourages confidences. Then it is that the Eggs and Beans cluster round, and, with bated breath, listen while a Crumpet holds the floor with a dramatic narrative of domestic disturbances in the life of Bingo Little or, perhaps, the heart-throb story of Freddie Fitch-Fitch at Droitgate Spa. To the members of the Drones such epics are history in the making; and to us, because our ribs ache from joyous laughter, they are no less significant." Contents: All's Well with Bingo; Bingo and the Peke Crisis; The Editor Regrets; Sonny Boy; Anselm Gets His Chance; Romance at Droitgate Spa; A Bit of Luck for Mabel; Buttercup Day; Ukridge and the Old Stepper. Moderate browning on free endpapers, tiny foxing marks on preliminary pages, foxing on top of text block - and a few on the other text block edges, small dog-ear crease on page 79/80, small to tiny bump at top corner of pages 39-80, large soft creases on page leaf 161/162, very light wear/fading at edges of boards, light fading/wrinkling at bottom edge of spine. Dust jacket has light to moderate edge wear/wrinkling with a few tiny tears/chips, large taped tear across rear panel and rear flap, moderate foxing on inside surface and on flaps, light soiling, colors are still bright. . First Canadian Edition.. Hard Cover. Good/Good-. Illus. by Fenwick dust jacket art..