Last week I wrote about a new (to me) find regarding Kenneth Roberts books – the American Services Editions of The Lively Lady, Northwest Passage, Arundel, and Captain Caution. I’m surprised, honestly, that for all the years I’ve been reading and collecting Roberts’ books (20 years?) I’ve never heard of or seen the ASE editions. So last week was a bit of a treat to ‘discover’ something ‘new.’
This week I received an ASE copy of The Lively Lady. Honestly, they’re nothing to write home about. The binding is simple, there are no pictures or prints, and the covers look more like an advertisement than the front cover of a novel. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but hold the book in wonder because I knew that a U.S. serviceman once carried this book with him while serving during war. As you can see in one of the images below, the book I have was once issued to an Alan L. Hunnicutt of the Corps of Engineers.
I have no idea who Hunnicutt is, but my mind is flooded with questions. Who was he? What did he think of the novel? Did it pass hands to other soldiers? What was Hunnicutt’s fate? And so much more. Perhaps these questions will never be answered. Nonetheless, this ASE (as with all others) is a piece of American history – definitely a treasure worth keeping.
Filed under: K.R. Memorabilia, The Lively Lady | Tagged: Alan L. Hunnicutt, American Services Edition, ASE, Corps of Engineers, Lively Lady | Leave a comment »
Kenneth Roberts - The Unofficial Site 
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