Vita Sackville-West, No Signposts in the Sea, first edition

A member of the Bloomsbury literary group, Virginia Woolf's lover, a lauded poet, novelist, travel writer and journalist, as well as a celebrated landscape designer who created the gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, Vita Sackville-West led a life of passion and vitality. No Signposts in the Sea is her final book, published in 1961—just a year before her death. This is the story of Edmund Carr, an eminent journalist who leaves his career and takes passage on a cruise ship after discovering he has only a short time to live. He knows that Laura, his widowed friend with whom he is falling in love, will also be on board. The dust jacket of this first edition reads, "No Signposts in the Sea is a beautifully and skillfully written story which probes deeply into human frailties, into the nature of love, and into the contradictions of the spirit and the flesh. It does so hauntingly and with civilized compassion."

This first edition volume is in good vintage condition with a fantastic cover by Jack Keats, better known as Ezra Jack Keats who created the groundbreaking children's book, The Snowy Day in 1962. It has the previous owner's inscription on the endpaper. Please see our detailed photos.