Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress (James Morris, 1st Edition, 1973)

This Faber and Faber first edition (1973) is of interest to collectors of James Morris and Jan Morris first editions, British imperial history, and the Pax Britannica trilogy.

About: Very good first edition, first impression, in a very good dust jacket with some toning, edge rubbing, and small tears at the head and foot of the spine: a sound and presentable copy of the first volume of Morris's celebrated Pax Britannica trilogy. Dedicated to Jan Morris. Printed in Great Britain by W & J Mackay Limited, Chatham. Red top edge.

Details:

• Title: Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress
• Author: James Morris
• Publisher: Faber and Faber, London
• Publication Date: 1973
• Edition: 1st Edition, 1st Impression
• Binding: Hardcover
• ISBN: 0 571 08645 4
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good (toning, edge rubbing, small tears at spine ends)

Synopsis: First edition Faber and Faber imprint, original dust jacket. The first volume of the Pax Britannica trilogy, published in the year before James Morris transitioned and became Jan Morris — lending this copy a particular bibliographic interest. A desirable copy for collectors of British history and Morris in either name.

Review: James Morris's Heaven's Command: An Imperial Progress is the first volume of the Pax Britannica trilogy, a monumental and elegantly written history of the British Empire at its Victorian zenith. Beginning with the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 and ending with the Diamond Jubilee of 1897, the book traces the expansion of empire across continents with Morris's characteristic blend of vivid narrative, acute observation, and lyrical prose. It remains one of the finest works of popular imperial history written in the twentieth century, and the trilogy as a whole is considered a landmark of British non-fiction.