THE LAST DAYS OF COSMOPOLITAN EUROPE

Bemelmans, Ludwig (1898–1962)

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep [Wartime Travel & Exile Narrative]

New York: The Viking Press, 1944. Second Printing.
COSMOPOLITAN EUROPE THROUGH HOTELS, SHIPS, EXILES, AND WARTIME MEMORY
A compelling wartime work by Ludwig Bemelmans, blending travel narrative, refugee observation, hospitality culture, and wartime human drama through the author’s distinctive cosmopolitan lens. Written during the Second World War and issued under wartime production restrictions, this volume captures Bemelmans at his most reflective and socially observant.

Set against the backdrop of Europe, transatlantic passage, and wartime displacement, the stories move between luxury hotels, ships, cafés, refugees, aristocrats, and ordinary civilians caught within the upheaval of war. Unlike the whimsical tone of the Madeline books, this work reveals Bemelmans as a sharp chronicler of exile, class, fear, and survival during the collapse of prewar European society.

CONDITION: Very Good — No dust jacket. The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean; light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf handling wear. Spine darkened. An attractive and solid wartime copy. Line drawings throughout by the author. Second Printing.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —
Ludwig Bemelmans was uniquely positioned to document the collapse of old Europe. Austrian-born and later American, he moved naturally between hotel kitchens, luxury dining rooms, ocean liners, and literary society. During the war years, his writing became darker and more reflective, preserving fleeting glimpses of refugee life, political uncertainty, and the disappearance of cosmopolitan Europe.

The title’s mixture of hospitality culture and wartime observation gives it a documentary quality unusual in American publishing of the period. Bemelmans’ line drawings soften the prose visually while simultaneously heightening its emotional distance and irony.

Subjects: Ludwig Bemelmans, World War II Literature, European Travel, Refugee Narratives, Hospitality Culture, Ocean Liners, Illustrated Books, Viking Press, Wartime Publishing, Mid-Century Literature, Travel Writing, Wartime Literature, Illustrated Literature, Hospitality Memoir, Social Observation.

Item #22026

Price: $14.00