In the Second Year
First edition, 1936
In the Second Year is a prescient pre-war novel of authoritarianism in Britain, a subtle yet powerful early work of anti-fascist dystopian fiction. Written in 1936, it explores how a democratic society can quietly surrender to totalitarian control.
Scarce first English edition in hardcover.
Hardcover. First Edition. Octavo, black cloth boards stamped in gilt on the spine. London: Cassell and Company Ltd., 1936. #11386.
Short tear in the cloth at the crown of the spine. Slight lean and some general wear, but overall a good or better copy.
Scarce first English edition in hardcover.
Hardcover. First Edition. Octavo, black cloth boards stamped in gilt on the spine. London: Cassell and Company Ltd., 1936. #11386.
Short tear in the cloth at the crown of the spine. Slight lean and some general wear, but overall a good or better copy.
Additional Details
In the Second Year is Storm Jameson’s quiet and haunting vision of Britain under fascist rule. The novel follows a liberal-minded man returning from Norway to a homeland reshaped by dictatorship. As he reacquaints himself with old friends and family, he is unsettled by how completely the new order has taken root and how swiftly public opposition has been silenced. His cousin is now prime minister, his brother-in-law a powerful general, yet his proximity to power offers him no comfort and little influence over his country's new path.
Throughout the novel, Jameson depicts a society where cruelty and control have become routine, and where small acts of defiance are swiftly crushed. The narrator bears witness to bravery and moral conviction in others but cannot bring himself to act. Instead, he aims to retreat once more toward safety abroad, leaving behind a country that has traded freedom for the illusion of stability.
In the Second Year reveals how authoritarianism can grow quietly within a democracy and how moral failure often begins in hesitation. It remains one of the more convincing and overlooked portrayals of British fascism in pre-war fiction, with its understated realism giving it a lasting power and relevance.
Throughout the novel, Jameson depicts a society where cruelty and control have become routine, and where small acts of defiance are swiftly crushed. The narrator bears witness to bravery and moral conviction in others but cannot bring himself to act. Instead, he aims to retreat once more toward safety abroad, leaving behind a country that has traded freedom for the illusion of stability.
In the Second Year reveals how authoritarianism can grow quietly within a democracy and how moral failure often begins in hesitation. It remains one of the more convincing and overlooked portrayals of British fascism in pre-war fiction, with its understated realism giving it a lasting power and relevance.
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