= An attractive set of all twelve volumes in first editions in original dustjackets. A landmark of twentieth-century British literature. Comprising:1. A Question of Upbringing (1951); 2. A Buyer's Market (1952); 3. The Acceptance World (1955); 4. At Lady Molly's (1957); 5. Casanova's Chinese Restaurant (1960); 6. The Kindly Ones (1962); 7. The Valley of Bones (1964); 8. The Soldier's Art (1966); 9. The Military Philosophers (1968); 10. Books do furnish a Room (1971) 11. Temporary Kings (1973); 12. Hearing Secret Harmonies (1975).

A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume series of novels by British author Anthony Powell, published between 1951 and 1975. Widely regarded as one of the great achievements of 20th-century English literature, the series presents a richly detailed, panoramic portrait of English upper- and middle-class society across several decades - from the aftermath of World War I, through World War II, and into the early 1970s.
Oxford Dict. of Biogr. describes the series as "a continuous frieze in high relief, deep cut and detailed." The story is narrated by Nicholas Jenkins, a writer and observer, who reflects on the passage of time and the shifting fortunes of his friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. "(...) The novel is less about Jenkins than about the world he belongs to, in which the more raffish elements of the establishment commingle with the upper echelons of bohemia, the usual catalysts being their wives, mistresses, and lovers. Observing how incoherent bodies interact, and the bizarre unions that result, Jenkins discerns a pattern dictated by the rhytm of life - hence the theme of the novel, which is that its characters, lik ethe Seasons in Poussin's painting, are engaged in a ritual dance to the music of time." (ODNB).

Condition: All twelve volumes without owner's entries or inscriptions. The dustjackets in fine or better condition (all unclipped), except for the first volume: I. A Question of Upbringing: dustjacket: splt along front flap fold; spine-ends and upper corners worn; II. A Buyer's Market: spine-ends worn; III. Acceptance of the World: trifle worn at spine-ends and corners; front-panel dustjacket with faint stains; IV-VII. Fine copies; VIII. The Soldier's Art: trifle worn at spine-ends; IX-XII: fine copies