The Male Impersonator

First Edition. 28 pp., letterpress on premium stock in printed paper-covered boards and identical printed dust jacket. One of 500 copies for sale (an additional 30 were for presentation); this copy numbered 298 and signed by the author at colophon. 8vo. Very good. Jacket with light edgewear and a few small areas of chipping. Interior fine with unopened pages. [2735]

A short story from the author's popular "Mapp and Lucia" series of satirical portraits of British upper-middle-class society and snobbery, which spanned six novels and two short stories. This story in particular is notable for its central intrigue around one "Lady Deal," an alleged former popular entertainer i.e. the titular "male impersonator," moving in to Miss Mapp's small town. Heaps of gossip, spying, and misunderstandings ensue. Thus a curious document in the history of cross-dressing and gender history.