Go Tell It on the Mountain
by BALDWIN, James
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Good/good
- Seller
-
Wellington, New Zealand
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953. Second printing. Hardcover. Good/good. The author's first novel, a Bildungsroman based on his life as the adopted son of a Harlem preacher and his struggles with identity as a young African-American man. "In this autobiographical family novel, fourteen-year-old John Grimes undergoes an emotional-psychological-religious crisis of adolescence and is 'saved'. Go Tell It on the Mountain explores the histories and internal lives of John's stepfather Gabriel, mother Elizabeth, and Aunt Florence, spanning the years from 1875 to the depression and including 'the Great Migration' from the South to Harlem" Octavo. Later pink cloth to spine and covers. With the rare pictorial dust jacket. Some tape residue from some previous cover. Front flap of dust jacket has been detached, trimmed and pasted onto the title page: a good copy with a good dust jacket which has been trimmed about 1 - 2 mm along the bottom edge. - protected in an archival Brodart clear cover now.
2nd printing August 1953 (first edition was printed on 11 May 1953)
cheapest copy first printing $4300 USD
no second printings shown
christies:
Go Tell It On the Mountain James Baldwin, 1953 Price Realised USD 7,500
Closed: 18 Sep 2021
2nd printing August 1953 (first edition was printed on 11 May 1953)
cheapest copy first printing $4300 USD
no second printings shown
christies:
Go Tell It On the Mountain James Baldwin, 1953 Price Realised USD 7,500
Closed: 18 Sep 2021
Synopsis
Written over a span of ten years, Go Tell It on the Mountain is James Baldwin’s first completed novel. The story follows John Grimes, a bright teen living in Harlem in the 1930s, as he explores relationships with his family and his church. On a basic level, Go Tell It on the Mountain is a coming of age story, yet the novel gains complexity as the omniscient narrator interweaves John’s story with the stories of his mother, father, and aunt. In addition to the Grimes family, a main focus of the text is the function of the Christian Church in the lives of African-Americans, which Baldwin argues to be a source of moral hypocrisy and repression. And with a title like Go Tell It on the Mountain , it is no surprise that the novel contains has many biblical references throughout. The novel is generally accepted as semi-autobiographical. Like the protagonist, Baldwin grew up in Harlem. Neither had a relationship with their biological fathers and both resented their religious fanatic stepfathers. Also like John, Baldwin underwent a religious awakening as a young adult. Go Tell It on the Mountain is ranked 39th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century and is also listed on TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923). In 1984, ABC produced a made-for-television movie based on the novel. -
Read More: Identifying first editions of Go Tell It on the Mountain
Reviews
On Aug 5 2012, JasonCampbell said:
Great book
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Last Word
(NZ)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3981
- Title
- Go Tell It on the Mountain
- Author
- BALDWIN, James
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Second printing
- Publisher
- Alfred A. Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1953
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction;
Terms of Sale
The Last Word
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives inaccurately or damaged. Prices are not set in stone - contact me if you want to haggle or submit a reasonable offer. Some larger and heavier books will incur extra postage - I will let you know when you order the book.
About the Seller
The Last Word
Biblio member since 2009
Wellington
About The Last Word
Dealer in good quality books. Especially Man Booker Prize winners - signed first editions, vintage childrens\\\' books and important New Zealand books such as those by Janet Frame. Prices are not set in stone - contact me if you want to haggle or submit a reasonable offer.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Brodart
- Generally used to refer to a clear plastic cover that is sometimes added to the dustjacket or outside covering of a book. The...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- A.N.
- The book is pristine and free of any defects, in the same condition as ...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
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