Pepys. His Life and Character signed by John Drinkwater first edition 1930

London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1930 
 
8vo., brown cloth lettered in gilt to spine; dust jacket with a reproduced image of Pepys from Magdalene College, Cambridge, pp. [vi], vii-viii, [iv], 380; lightly creased along spine, upper edge a little dusty, minor spotting to outer edges; endpapers lightly offset; a very good copy in like dust jacket, chipped along edges and corners, particularly affecting spine, one small hole to spine, which is also a touch faded. 
 
First edition, inscribed by the author to the front free endpaper. The author  inscribes "This copy of the first edition of 'Pepys' is a stray one from a booksellers' stock. John Drinkwater, London December 4 1931'. The author then quotes a line from the book taken from page 63 "Nor could any man have been less of a humbug than he' - p63". 
 
John Drinkwater was an English poet and dramatist who also wrote critically on William Morris, Abraham Lincoln and King Charles I, among others. He was also a playwright, actor, director and critic. Pepys’ house in Brampton is often referred to in his famous diary, and during the early part of the 20th century, it was let by the Samuel Pepys Club to Drinkwater, who perhaps wanted to draw inspiration from the building itself while writing the biography.