The Last and the First

For other uses, see Last and First (disambiguation).

First edition (publ. Victor Gollancz Ltd)

The Last and the First is Ivy Compton-Burnett's posthumous novel, published in 1971, two years after her death. The work, complete if possibly awaiting revision, was untitled when it was discovered, and was so named as appropriate for her last novel, and also because of the Biblical quotation (Matthew 20:16) uttered (not for the first time in her canon) by one of the characters.

Novels by Ivy Compton-Burnett

Pastors and Masters (1925) A House and Its Head (1935) Manservant and Maidservant (1947) The Present and the Past (1953) A Heritage and Its History (1959) The Last and the First (1971)