MOON, Lorna (1883-1930). Dark Star. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, [1929].
8vo. Original white and black cloth, spine stamped in red and black (spine a bit toned, some minor rubbing to binding); original dust jacket (spine toned, some soiling, edgewear, marginal light chipping, a few short tears, some minor soiling). Provenance: Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959), bookplate of the American film director.
FIRST TRADE EDITION, CECIL B. DEMILLE’S COPY, LAID-IN WITH A CLIPPED SIGNATURE OF THE AUTHOR. This bestselling novel was the basis of the award-winning film, Min and Bill (1930), starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery, directed by George W. Hill. This film won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Marie Dressler). There’s an anecdote about how Moon sent DeMille a letter criticizing screenplays of the day (especially his); he challenged her to come to Hollywood and do better, which she did. She had an affair with DeMille’s brother, William, and bore his illegitimate child (the child didn’t know his mother’s identity until he grew up, and wrote a memoir, My Secret Mother, Lorna Moon (1998)).