Flash of Splendour by Anne Stevenson
Uncorrected Advance Proof
A  good copy of a scarce vintage 53- year-old proof copy paperback with an intriguing pencil inscription 'Ellen Terry' underlined on the front cover. 
About the Book: 
“The time:1848, a year of revolution. The place: a quiet Warwickshire village. The participants: a self-willed, beautiful girl, Anne Torrance, still grieving for a dead father, and the young doctor, Hugh Radlett, who loves her but understands her too well. Into their lives come two men – Godfrey Bullivant, a man obsessed, shattering the peace of the countryside with his railway and his band of unruly navvies, and Laszlo Bathory, an exotic, mysterious figure, involved in revolution. Against a vast canvas if upheaval and change, surrounded by fascinating characters such as the Hungarian Countess Sophia, the prim Esther Wharton, the intolerable Carrington, the pathetic Toms, they work out their individual destinies.”
 
Flash of Splendour was the second book written by Anne Stevenson,  the first being Ralph Dacre.  A well-loved and popular author whose books are hard to find.  A good author to make a collection of her works.
 
Genre:  Historical Fiction
Book Type: Card covered soft back book. Collectable, Rarer, Uncorrected Advance Proof. Intriguingly has written in pencil the name of ‘Ellen Terry’ underlined on the front cover.  One famous ‘Ellen Terry’ was an English actress who died in 1928.  A mystery to follow up perhaps?
Publisher: Collins, St James’s Place, London
Appealing to collect
Edition:  First edition 1968. Out of Print and only a few copies available online.
Size: 20cm x 14cm
Number of pages:  256 Pages
 
Biography of Author:
“Felicity Avery (Anne Stevenson, pen name) was born in Cardiff in 1928, she read History at St. Anne’s at the University of Oxford from 1946 to 1949. After her degree, she worked as historical archivist for the Holland-Martin banking family, before turning to journalism and fiction, which was initially published in the form of short stories and serials in magazines and journals. Composed under the nom de guerre of Anne Stevenson, her first novel, Ralph Dacre, was immediately snapped up by Billy Collins in 1967 and quickly became a best seller. It was followed by eight further novels that spanned various genres from thrillers to historical sagas. She has variously been compared to Mary Stewart and, in her pared-down shorter fiction, to Graham Greene and during her most prolific years in 1960s and 1970s, she gathered a considerable number of loyal readers for her intelligent, well-crafted thrillers.

She was married to the economic journalist and naval historian, Ronald Avery (1915-1996) and spent the last years of her life in Oxford, before losing her fight with breast cancer in 2008. She is survived by her daughter, Anne Louise, and grandson, Inigo. There are plans to republish her works in the next couple of years, following a resurgence of interest in her fiction.”  
Biog. courtesy of Good Reads, More at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1326975.Flash_of_Splendour
More books by Anne Stevenson not to be confused with the American Poet of the same name.
Ralph Dacre
A Relative Stranger
The French Inheritance
Coils of Serpents
A Game of Statues
Turkish Rondo
Mask of Treason
Troubled Waters
 
CONDITION:
Covers:  Red card covers are grubby with a white splodge top right as image. Rubbing and age-related wear, creasing to the outer edges. Faint scuffing on bottom front image.
Binding: Sloping
Spine: Age related wear and some small tearing to bottom
Pages.  All pages complete. Outer fore pages has light foxing and pages within are age toned, yellowing. Some pages will have creasing..
A  good copy of a scarce vintage 53- year-old proof copy paperback.
Book Lovers Guides offers you a selection of rarer books, those increasingly difficult to find, with few or no copies available on the internet.  Books, pamphlets and magazines are pre-owned and pre-loved showing some signs of use. Dust Jackets are graded separately. Photos are included to help you judge the condition.