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1970 Hardcover Signed By Literary Great 1st Edition 1st Printing In Dust Jacket. "Losing Battles" by Eudora Welty. SIGNED BOOKPLATE HARDCOVER 1970 Random House Stated 1st Edition, 1st Printing w/ "First Edition" & numbers 2-9 on copyright page. (See "Note" listed after this notation) NOTE: Unlike most publishers Random House true first printings have "First Edition" & numbers 2-9, instead of 1-10 on the copyright page. TRUE 1st Edition 1st Printing DJ with "4/70" on rear DJ flap. Exactly as shown in scan(s). Nice Collectible SIGNED BOOKPLATE Stated 1st edition, 1st printing hardcover copy in Dust Jacket. UNCOMMON AS A SIGNED BOOK PLATE TRADE EDITION 1ST/1ST IN DJ "One of Welty's most enduring novels about life in small town Mississippi. Set in the 1930s in Banner, Mississippi, "Losing Battles" centers on a large, boisterous family reunion gathered to celebrate the 90th birthday of the matriarch, Granny Vaughn. The novel unfolds over two days in late August and is told primarily through rhythmic, raucous dialogue among the dozens of relatives who have come together on the family farm. The primary excitement of the gathering is the return of Jack Renfro, Grannyâs great-grandson, who has just escaped from Parchman Farm (a Mississippi state penitentiary) to make it home for the celebration. Jack had been imprisoned for a year and a half after a fight with Curly Stovall over a stolen family heirloomâa ring belonging to Granny Vaughn. As the family swaps stories and consumes vast amounts of food, several subplots and secrets emerge: The family remains furious at Judge Moody, the man who sentenced Jack. Through a series of mishaps involving a car balanced on a cliff, Judge Moody and his wife end up stranded and are eventually brought into the family circle, where old grudges meet new understandings. The looming presence of Miss Julia Mortimer, a recently deceased schoolteacher, haunts the reunion through the memories of her former students. She represents the "written" world of education and progress, which often clashes with the family's oral tradition and local loyalty. Jackâs wife, Gloria, an orphan and a former protégée of Miss Julia, struggles to find her own identity. She desires a private life for herself, Jack, and their daughter, Lady May, away from the suffocatingly tight-knit Renfro-Beecham-Vaughn clan. The novel examines the sanctuary of family loyalty versus the desire for personal independence. While the family offers unwavering support, it also distorts reality to protect its own, sometimes sweeping harsh truths under the rug. Welty uses the contrast between the family's storytelling (the "spoken") and the law and education (the "written") to explore how a culture survives and defines itself. The "losing battles" of the title refer to the characters' ongoing struggles against poverty, ignorance, and time. Despite constant losses, the characters display a profound strength to endure and "go on living". SIGNED BY AUTHOR ON BOOKPLATE LAID DOWN TO 1ST BLANK END PAPER: "EUDORA WELTY". EUDORA (ALICE) WELTY (1909-2001) was a noted American short-story writer, novelist and photographer who wrote about the small town rural American South. Her novel "The Optimist's Daughter" won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerous awards, including the "Presidential Medal Of Freedom" & "Order of The South." Welty's first collection of short stories, "A Curtain of Green," in 1941. The book established Welty as one of American literature's leading lights, and featured the stories "Why I Live at the P.O.", "Petrified Man", and the frequently anthologized "A Worn Path". She was the first living author to have her works published by the "Library Of America." Her house in Mississippi has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a museum. Internally tight & unmarked. Binding Exterior; all lettering/decoration bright. NO REMAINDER MARK NOT X-LIBRARY.Light edge wear to SELDOM PRESENT $7.95 unclipped DJ. ALL ITEMS ARE GUARANTEED TO BE ACCURATELY DESCRIBED, NOT DEFECTIVE, & GENUINE. PLEASE NOTE: We do all our own shipping. We will combine shipping on multiple items, where possible to save the winning bidder on shipping costs. Shipping will be added to the winning bidder's invoice for item(s) won. Media Mail postage from USPS will be used for shipping in the United States for those items allowed. The lowest alternative cost shipping will be billed for items not allowed by USPS to be shipped by Media Mail. Foreign winning bidders will pay postage based on their countries small/medium/large Flat Rate box postage rates & weight of the package. Other types of postage are available at the added expense at the bidders' request. You also agree to pay any applicable taxes and/or customs/import duties. A Tracking Number will be provided to the buyer. Insurance is mandatory on packages over USD 100 and will be added to postage charges when applicable.