A Book of Verses.

HENLEY, William Ernest.

Item Number: 136105

London: Published by David Nutt in the Strand, 1888.

First edition of Henley’s first volume of poems containing the first printing of his best-known work, Invictus, untitled on page 56. 12mo, original stiff paper wrappers, pictorial vignette to the title page. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase. Small bookplate and bookseller’s label. Exceptionally rare with only a handful of copies appearing at auction in the past 80 years.

Though he wrote several books of poetry, English poet and critic William Ernest Henley is remembered most often for his 1875 poem "Invictus". A fixture in London literary circles, the one-legged Henley might have been the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's character Long John Silver (Treasure Island, 1883), while his young daughter Margaret Henley inspired J. M. Barrie's choice of the name Wendy for the heroine of his play Peter Pan (1904).