My Secret Diary
London: Victor Gollancz LTD, 1958. Item #1558 8vo. 190 x 130 mm., [7 ½ x 5 inches]. 199 pp. Publishers’ red cloth over boards with gilt lettering on the spine; unclipped illustrated dust jacket. Book is Near Fine: minor dent on the bottom left corner of the upper cover; some foxing along the page edges. Jacket is Near Fine: moderate edgewear and soiling. Overall, a bright, attractive copy with a remarkably well-preserved original jacket. First English Edition. Giovanni Guareschi (1908-1968) was an Italian journalist and author of humorist works. He was the creator of Don Camillo and Peppone, the fictional protagonists of a series of 347 stories that Guareschi published in his satirical newspaper Candido. My Secret Diary, however, is a stark departure from his fiction. It is a collection of diary entries that he made from 1943 to 1945 while he was imprisoned in various Nazi prisoner-of-war camps. It describes the boredom, horror and misery of the war years alongside the hope and civility maintained by himself and those around him who would not allow themselves to be fully subjugated by their captors. Translated by Frances Frenaye from the Italian original, Diario Clandestino 1943-1945, originally published in 1949.
Price: $75.00