Italo Svevo; Beryl de Zoete [trans.] — The Hoax

London, Leonard and Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, 1929 . First edition. Cloth. The scarce first English language edition of Italian businessman, novelist, playwright, and short story writer Italo Svevo's farcical tragicomedy The first edition, first impression of the scarce first English language translation of this work. 1,000 copies of this edition were printed.Translated from the original Italian by Beryl de Zoete.In this novel, originally published in Italian, follows central character Mario when a travelling salesman with a taste for practical jokes persuades him that a Viennese publishing company wants to translate his early failed novel.Mario neglects his beloved invalid brother as a result of his fantasy of fame and success.With the inscription 'Tew at 2' to the front free endpaper. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Dust wrapper spine label lightly age toned. Bump to back strip tail, with a touch of fraying to cloth. Otherwise, externally excellent. Inscription to front free endpaper. Internally, firmly bound. Pages clean and bright. Near Fine . Ill.: None. Near Fine .