Maggs Bros.

Signed by Somerville on the title page, and with an a.l.s. from her to Lord Dorchester: “This little book has come at last. I made the printers wait till print & paper were less aggressively ‘wartime’ in quality … the Happy lady is trying to express her gratitude to you for the story on Page 112”. The story on page 112 is of the mid-19th century racehorse Cruiser owned by Lord Dorchester: a wild and aggressive animal, he defeated all attempts to break him until he was finally tamed by the original Horse Whisperer John Rarey, although her account is a wildly inaccurate and sentimental version, probably as offered to her by Dorchester. The truth is somewhat better than her story, for the Cruiser victory helped make Rarey a celebrity, and he was given the horse in gratitude.An excellent copy in a chipped dust jacket.