Hyssop, James Prior 1st Edition, Signed

Publication : London, William Heinemann, 1904. The publisher's original red cloth binding remains remarkably bright and tight, preserved beautifully beneath a clear protective sleeve.

The gilt titling to the front board and spine is sharp and unoxidised, with only trivial, superficial bumping to the spine ends and corners. The binding is firm and square, with no cracking to the hinges.

Internally, there is moderate foxing to the preliminary leaves and the text block edges, typical for the paper stock of this era, but the primary text remains clean and completely legible throughout. An exceptionally smart, well-preserved copy of a difficult title. The half-title bears the ink signature of "James Prior", a notable addition that serves as a wonderful association, though lacking further provenance to definitively confirm it as the author's hand rather than a contemporary ownership inscription. Hyssop is widely considered Prior's most elusive work on the open market.

Written to capitalise on the success of his earlier hit Forest Folk, and set in Burton Joyce, it reportedly suffered from a rushed release and poorer initial sales, drastically limiting its survival rate today. A modern printed biographical note regarding James Prior Kirk's life in Bingham and his literary legacy in the Midlands is laid in. Set in the rural environs of Nottinghamshire, Hyssop explores the complexities of memory, identity, and provincial life following a devastating train crash that leaves a young woman with amnesia.

She must be taught how to speak again by the middle-class family that adopts her. James Prior weaves a rich domestic drama that leans heavily on his masterful ear for the Midland dialect and his deep affection for the changing landscape of the English countryside.

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