Gwen makes her point
A couple of weeks ago I bought a 1909 edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam at a book fair. It didn’t cost very much, and it is not rare or remarkable.
What makes it unusual is the dedication on the right-hand front endpaper. Here is an image of the page; transcription follows.
Love from Gwen. August 2nd 1911
Uncle Jack
Your bed is not nice to sleep in, it goes down in the middle, and the flys in the room are dreadful, and they do so bite, I slept here on my way to Cricceith, but never again
Gwen
Poor Gwen. Her sufferings were clearly so acute that she determined to tell Uncle Jack just what she thought of his uneven mattress and fly-ridden bedroom; and she found her opportunity. One wonders with what pleasure Uncle Jack received the book from Gwen, and whether the shine was taken off it somewhat when he opened it and read the inscription.
