Books

First Modern Library edition of the author's masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth, patterned endpapers. Boldly signed on the dedication page by Karen Blixen and Bernadine Kielty, who contributed the introduction. Introduction by Bernadine Kielty. From the library of Bruce and Beatrice Gould. Bruce Gould and Beatrice Blackmar Gould were co-editors of the Ladies' Home Journal for almost 27 years, from 1935 through 1962, including the golden years of the magazine. Time magazine wrote upon their 1962 retirement, the Goulds took an undistinguished journal in a field that "took the patronizing view that a woman's interests were largely confined to the home" and led by "Beatrice's sure feeling for the emancipated women's tastes, it invited its readers to plunge up to the elbows not only in bread dough but in life." The magazine pushed for "purity in politics as well as in maternity wards" and fought against venereal disease and child abuse. Attention-getting articles and addressing feminine health problems openly were published, as well as top fiction pieces." Near fine in a very good dust jacket, with Bruce Gould's signature on the dedication page. Rare and desirable signed and with noted provenance. From 1914 to 1931, Danish aristocrat Baroness Karen Blixen owned and operated a coffee plantation in Kenya. After the plantation failed, she returned to Europe and began to write under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Out of Africa reads like a collection of stories in which she adheres to no strict chronology, gives no explanation of the facts of her life, and apologizes for nothing. Basis for the film bearing the same name, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, which went on to win seven Academy Awards. Named by Modern Library as one of the 100 best non-fiction books of the twentieth century.

Out of Africa is Karen Blixen's poignant memoir that details her life on a coffee plantation in Kenya. Through lyrical prose, Blixen reflects on the beauty, challenges, and friendships experienced during her stay from 1914 to 1931.