A Boy's Will [first state]

First edition, first state, bound in golden brown textured cloth, small indentation close to foot of spine, part ringmark on upper board. The book was owned and annotated in pencil by an English acquaintance of Frost in March 1914 while the American poet was still living in Gloucestershire as one of the Dymock poets. Appearing on the first endpaper is written, 'Alex Mitchell Feb. 1914'; title page unopened; a couple of foxing spots, small offset mark to final paste-down. Mitchell annotates the poem 'My November Guest' with 'Thought by the poet himself to be his best verse - "This poem" he said to Mrs Smith "is the best I have yet done." At the end of the volume Mitchell has written a perceptive 200 word biography of Frost dated '13.III.14' and observing: 'he came over to Britain, partly to meet other poets, partly to publish his own poetry. (The present volume is the result; and another "North of Boston" is in the press). He at present consorts with poets like Gibson & Lascelles Abercrombie and lives with them in the poetic colony in Gloucestershire. He intends going back to U.S.A. soon... he is endeavouring to break away from the Victorian poetic diction...' Elsewhere in the volume Mitchell contrasts Frost's poems in is annotations with Browning and Arthur O'Shaughnessy.