"Savrola, a tale of the revolution in Laurania" by Winston Churchill - Longmans Green, 1900 first edition second issue - 18cmx15cm - condition: good, original binding with some fading to white lettering, some rubbing to etches, complete. This is Churchill's third book and only novel, U.S. first edition, second printing, quite scarce thus in the red cloth binding variant. Of note, this is one of the few Churchill books for which the U.S. edition is the true first edition. In fact, the British first edition was issued from American plates. The second printing of the first edition occurred in January 1900, the same month as the U.S. first printing and still a month before the first British edition, which was not issued until February 1900. Most second printings were nearly identical to the first printing, bound in the same blue cloth and distinguished internally only by notation of the January 1900 reprint on the copyright page. However, there was a scarce variant of the second printing bound in red cloth with white lettering. The binding proved quite susceptible to fading, wear, and fading of the white lettering. Here is the scarce red cloth variant of the second printing. Savrola: A Tale of the Revolution in Laurania is the only major fictional work of Winston S. Churchill. The story describes events in the capital of Laurania, a fictional European state, as unrest against the dictatorial government of president Antonio Molara turns to violent revolution. Churchill began writing the novel on his voyage from Britain to India to take part in the Malakand campaign in August 1897. Churchill was on leave from his posting with the army in India when he had news of fighting in Malakand, and immediately arranged to return. The book was started before, and completed after, writing The Story of the Malakand Field Force about his experiences there. He wrote to his brother in May 1898 that the book had been completed. The working title for the book was Affairs of State. It was initially published as a serialisation in Macmillan's Magazine between May and December 1898, and was then published as a book in February 1900.[1]