Beastly Tales.

signed by the author and illustrator

This is a very good first edition of Vikram Seth's timeless collection of ten poetic children's fables, signed by the author as well as the creator of its charming illustrations, Ravi Shankar. Seth's enchanting poems tell us the stories of anthropomorphised animals—crocodiles, mosquitos, frogs, and elephants—transporting a reader to mango-growing swamps, the sidelines of a hare-tortoise race, the foot of a sumac tree, and, of course, Bingle Valley. In his introduction, Seth tells us, 'Of the ten tales told here, the first two come from India, the next two from China, the next two from Greece, and the next two from the Ukraine. The final two came directly to me from the Land of Gup. I hope you enjoy them and have a beastly time.'

First edition, signed by the author and illustrator on title page; 8vo (21 x 12.5 cm); 12 in-text illustrations, limited author's corrections in pen, otherwise clean binding; publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in grey, a very good copy in original dustjacket slightly faded and rubbed on edges, binding rubbed, hinge cracked; ix, 93pp.