Early Novels

Anthony Powell published five standalone novels during he 1930s.
They are very different form Dance as Powell is learning his craft and finding his style as a novelist.
All have been republished a number of times both in the UK and USA.

Here Mike Jay introduces us to all five novels.

Afternoon Men (Duckworth; 1931)

Venusberg (Duckworth; 1932)

From a View to a Death (Duckworth; 1933)

Agents and Patients (Duckworth; 1936)

What's Become of Waring (Cassells; 1939)

Also at this time Powell, wrote and privately published a piece of pastiche poetry entitled
Caledonia: A Fragment
being lines suggested by the sound of a Pibroch or Bag-pipe
played at an early hour in a London Square by an indigent Scotchman
wearing the plaid or national dress of that country.

The handful of leaves were bound in boards of Royal Stuart tartan.
The frontispiece is a black and white pen drawing by Edward Burra.
The text was obscured by the removal of vowels from many of the names.
All the copies were given as gifts to friends.
The print run was small (about 100 copies), and copies were never sold,
so original copies are now rare and expensive.

Caledonia: A Fragment (Privately published; 1931) – Introduction to follow