The Seventh Gate

New York/London: Harper & Brothers. Near Fine. 1930. 1st (American) Edition. Hardcover. (no dust jacket) [nice tight clean copy with minimal shelfwear, just a bit of rubbing to gilt spine lettering] Unusual novel, winner of a £1,000 prize co-sponsored by its British and American publishers, about a middle-aged piano teacher who's inspired by an article she's read theorizing that one's sexual energies can be sublimated and re-channeled into artistic pursuits. Undeterred by the protestations of its author -- a university professor of similar age (unhappily married to a very practical wife) -- that it's "just an idea, that needs testing," she determines to remake her life along this model, and proceeds to pursue a career as a singer. Complications ensue, involving the protagonist's sister and mother, as well as the professor who finds himself increasingly drawn to her. It was noted in the press at the time that the author was a first-time novelist at age 50, and that the inspiration for her book was an article by Julian Huxley entitled "The Sublimation of Sex" -- both of which facts match up conveniently well with those of her protagonist. .