the date on the inside cover is from the fifties... it was my nana's... she must have bought it when she was in her 20s... I grew up with her reading it to me all the time... I read it again a little while ago and it was so much better than I ever remembered... if you have never read this, you need to... well maybe not if you are of the male form... delightfully humorous and always a good read when you're in the bath tub...