A Time of Gifts; Between the Woods and the Water; The Broken Road.

First editions of each volume in Leigh Fermor's trilogy. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with maps. A Time of Gifts is an association copy, warmly inscribed by Patrick Leigh Fermor on the front free endpaper to Daphne Fielding with with a large ink sketch of a coastal scene with church bell tower, castle tower, cliff faces, sea and birds covering the entire page, "To darling Daphne, with tons of love, from Paddy." The recipient, Daphne Fielding (1904–1997) was a British socialite and writer whose memoirs and biographical works offered a vivid portrait of aristocratic life in the early twentieth century. Born Daphne Vivian, daughter of the 4th Baron Vivian, she married Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath, and became Marchioness of Bath before their divorce in 1953. Fielding was closely connected to the “Bright Young Things”—a group of bohemian aristocrats and artists whose flamboyant lifestyles captured public imagination in interwar Britain—and maintained friendships with many prominent literary figures, including Evelyn Waugh. Waugh, who shared her interest in the idiosyncrasies of upper-class life, dedicated his 1957 novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold to Fielding and her best-known works included The Nearest Way Home (1970), a memoir of her unconventional upbringing, and The Duchess of Jermyn Street (1978), a biography of her mother-in-law, Daisy Fellowes. With wit, candor, and an insider’s perspective, Fielding documented a vanishing world of privilege, eccentricity, and decline within the British upper classes. Accompanied by an autograph postcard inscribed by the author and titled "Thought for the Day 3.2.88" laid in. Between the Woods and the Water is signed by Patrick Leigh Fermor on the title page beneath his name. The Broken Road, which was published posthumously, is signed by editors Colin Thubron and Artemis Cooper on the title page. Accompanied by the original Hatchards signed copy wrap around band. Each volume is very good to fine in very good to fine dust jackets. Jacket artwork by John Craxton. An exceptional association.