8vo. Original beige cloth lettered in burgundy (some wear to spine ends). Provenance: Ownership inscriptions to inner front board.

FIRST EDITION. Dorothy West began work on The Living is Easy shortly after moving to Martha's Vineyard from New York City in 1945. The work was based on her experiences as a middle class African-American child in Boston during the early years of the 20th century, and though it was critically well-received it was not commercially successful; it has in the years since however been recognized as a significant work of the Harlem Renaissance. In his review for The New York Times Seymour Krim wrote, "The important thing about the book is its abundant and special woman's energy and beat. The beat is a deep one and it often makes a man's seem puny."