Hands to Dance and Skylark.

UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[A new and revised edition of long out-of- print original publication in 1951 of author's 'Hands to Dance'.] NFINE/NFINE.Blue inked gift presentation inscrptn to the front pastedown,but hidden behind dw/dj's front inner flap and price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,author's monochrome photographic portrait within a gilt illustrated bosun's whistle illustrated front panel of dw/dj,and white lettering,and a more modern b/w portrait photographic rear panel; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present - apart from a small 1/2" closed tear to front,top corner of dw/dj.Majority of any creasing is to top edges of dw/dj.Top edges very lightly dust- soiled with very faint flecking or foxing/spotting,fore-edges brighter and less affected and still generally clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no intentional dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, publisher's original plain blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and clean plain white endpapers.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,7-191pp [paginated] includes author's foreword,19 chapters and an afterword,plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages and contents list/table.
'It sounds as though your time in the Navy was a bit of a skylark,' a friend said to Charles Causley on the original publication in 1951 of his Naval stories,'Hands to Dance'.Noel Coward describes this new and revised edn as 'most brilliantly constructed and most lovingly and wittily written'. Charles Causley has added a foreword and a long autobiographical section dealing with some of the realities of his life during a varied period of wartime service on the lower deck.Written with zest and an infectious enthusiasm,these entertaining tales,many of which have been broadcast by the BBC and are classics of their kind,range from the deceptively peaceful market towns of the West of England to the life of the matelot in Gibraltar, West Africa,the islands of the Mediterranean,Alexandria and Australia. By contrast,his own personal memoir offers an often moving account of his emergence as a writer and as one of the most distinguished poets of our time. In the old Navy,the pipe 'Hands to Dance and Skylark' was sounded when a ship's company,after a long period at sea,was in need of cheerful excercise to raise the spirits.It seems an appropriate title for this always engaging and lively collection of stories. Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices, weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too! So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!