Pastoral (The Vanguard Library, No. 21)

First thus.  244, [4]pp.  Oatmeal cloth-covered boards, gilt lettering on red relief on the spine.  12mo.  Text block edges toned, as are the pages.  Previous owner’s name neatly inked on the front free endpaper else internally neat and clean.  In its original dust jacket, a little rubbed at edges and some minor chipping on upper corners and spine head, perhaps a tad toned.  Dust wrapper now protected in an archival-quality Mylar sleeve, fitted without the use of tape or adhesives.

Nevil Shute was the pen name of Nevil Shute Norway (1899-1960), an aeronautical engineer and novelist. Known for his highly readable style and clearly delineated plots.  Many of his novels centred on pre-war flying adventures and second world war tales, while several of his later stories , following his own relocation to Melbourne, were set in Australia, notably A Town Like Alice.