James Courage, The Young Have Secrets, Jonathan Cape, London, 1954 - 1st Edition

While the dust jacket of this rare copy of James Courage's The Young Have Secrets is showing its age, with foxing and fading, it still has a lovely 1950s graphic style and it has protected the book within beautifully. There is extremely minor foxing to the first and last few pages but the book is otherwise in pristine condition. The binding is tight and there are no inscriptions. 

New Zealand writer James Courage (1903-1963) is best known for his short stories and for the seven novels he wrote between 1948 and 1961. Despite living in England from the end of his secondary schooling until his death, New Zealand provided the setting for his most successful writing. Courage also took an active interest in the New Zealand literary scene, meeting and corresponding with many of its most prominent figures. His fiction reworks a variety of autobiographical scenarios, ranging from an early interest in the domestic relationships and specific New Zealand settings of his childhood, through to his later concerns with mental illness and its treatment, and homosexuality. 

Set against the backdrop of World War I, this story concerns ten-year-old Walter Blakiston and his experiences while boarding with Mr Garnett, the master of his preparatory school. Also in the household are Garnett's cantankerous wife and their adult daughter, Muriel. Muriel has two sisters, Rose and Hilda, and a brother Mark. Through confessions made by each of the central characters to the uncomprehending Walter, the reader becomes aware that all three sisters loved the same man, Geoffrey Macauley, and that Hilda was able to marry him only after actions by Muriel turned him away from his first love, Rose. As these familial tensions come to a head, so does Walter's own questioning of adult sexuality.

Please look closely at the photographs as they form an important part of the description. If you are based in Wellington, free delivery is available in the central, southern and eastern suburbs, or for $5 in the northern and western suburbs. If you would like further information, please get in touch directly (contact@eldercroftandsons.co.nz).