The Naga Queen: Ursula Graham Bower and Her Jungle Warriors,1939-45.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated, superimposed, subject's portrait colour photographic illustrated front panel of dw/dj, with white+pale green lettering,rear panel with monochrome photographic family portrait; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, publisher's original plain dark green cloth boards with bright,crisp, blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,8-238pp [paginated] includes acknowledgements,foreword by Max Arthur,an introduction,46 chapters,16pp contemporary b/w auto+biographical photographs and b/w illustration reproductions in 1 block,between pp128/9,and an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,contents list/table and 2pp blanks at the rear.
In 1937 a young English debutante arrived in India to visit a friend; a holiday that would change her life forever.Ursula Bower had grown up in an extraordinary family of adventurers,but was still expected,as a young woman,to embrace London society and find herself a good husband.Ursula,however,seized the first opportunity to pursue her dreams of adventure and on arriving in the Naga Hills she joined the British dispenser of a tour among the former head-taking Naga tribes.Ursula was captivated by these proud hill-dwelling people and her first visit inspired her to live alone among them,gaining their confidence and devotion.While among them she recorded their lives and customs in a diary,in photographs and rare cine footage,providing a unique glimpse into a world almost untouched by time - an insight which made her a leading authority on the Nagas of her day.Ursula spent the following years living and working amongst the hill tribes, learning their rituals,experiencing 'black magic' at first hand and tending to the sick.In 1944,she was recruited by the British Army's special operations unit 'V' Force,headed by General Slim,to lead her Nagas against the invading Japanese.She became an unofficial soldier in the Second World War,and would make scouting forays through the jungle,armed with a sten gun and accompanied by her faithful Nagas. Her heroics captured the world's imagination,and were immortalised in newspaper articles and in the American comic 'Jungle Queen'.After the Japanese were forced out of India,Ursula ran jungle training courses for the RAF,teaching them to survive in the wilderness she had claimed as her home.A courageous and pioneering character,Ursula formed a bond of mutual affection so strong with the Naga people that they still honour her memory over sixty years later.The Nagas have no royalty, but in their esteem she was indeed the 'Naga Queen'.For the first time her extraordinary story is told through her own words,new interviews with friends and family,and with previously unpublished photographs. Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE.
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