Three-Quarter Length Portrait of Michael Arlen.

London, UK William Heinemann, 1930. Hardcover First Edition (date unstated, but approximately 1930), unstated in accordance with William Heinemann's customary practiceat the time of publication. A Signed Edition, Limited to 520 copies, of which this is Number 84. First Edition (date unstated, but approximately 1930), unstated in accordance with William Heinemann's customary practiceat the time of publication. A Signed Edition, Limited to 520 copies, of which this is Number 84. Very Good in Fair DJ: The Book shows light wear to the head and heel of the backstrip; a hint of age-darkening to the quarter-cloth floral-designed panels and mild shelving wear to the lower extremities; just a touch of foxing to the endpapers; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting or marginalia or marks in the text. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing mild wear and minor, unobtrusive cosmetic flaws. The DJ has split at the backstrip shows wear to the extremities, with chip loss to the head of the backstrip; mild toning to its extremities and only faint soiling. Fair at best. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 4to. (10.65 x 8.25 x 0.45 inches). 5-page Preface, written on Syracuse, 29 December, 1930, followed by a 4-page poem: "Three-Quarter Length Portrait of Michael Arlen". Nicely printed and bound by The Windmill Press, Kingswood Surrey; lovely marbled cloth, large woodcut letter "A" in red beginning the poem. Language: English. Weight: 10.7 ounces. Rag-edged fore-edge and bottom edge. Top edge gilt. Hardback with DJ (panels detached and laid in). Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet (1892 – 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Dame Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and literature. Michael Arlen (1895 – 1956), born Dikran Kouyoumdjian, was a British essayist, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and scriptwriter of Armenian origin, who had his greatest successes in the 1920s while living and writing in England. Arlen is most famous for his satirical romances set in English smart society, but he also wrote gothic horror and psychological thrillers, for instance "The Gentleman from America", which was filmed in 1956 as a television episode for Alfred Hitchcock's TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Arlen's vivid but colloquial style "with unusual inversions and inflections with a heightened exotic pitch" came to be known as 'Arlenesque'. Very much a 1920s society figure resembling the characters he portrayed in his novels, and a man who might be referred to as a dandy, Arlen invariably impressed everyone with his immaculate manners. He was always impeccably dressed and groomed, and was seen driving around London in a fashionable yellow Rolls Royce and engaging in various luxurious activities. His works became an inspiration for famous Hollywood movies such as A Woman of Affairs (1928), starring Greta Garbo and John Gilbert; The Golden Arrow (1936), starring Bette Davis; and he was screenwriter of The Heavenly Body (1944), based on a story by Jacques Théry, starring William Powell and Hedy Lamarr.