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A Handful of Dust
by WAUGH, Evelyn
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Near Fine/Good+
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Norfolk, Connecticut: New Directions, 1945. Early Reprint. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. Near Fine/Good+. Alvin Lustig (dust jacket). 12mo. Pp. 308. Red cloth, Futura bold title stamped in black on the spine. In the Alvin Lustig illustrated dust jacket, price clipped. Edges very lightly age toned else near fine. Covers crisp and bright. Jacket edges moderately chipped and spine sunned. Issue number 8 in the New Classics Series, "dollar reprints of important modern works of literature," in this instance of the Little, Brown edition of Waugh's grim novel of South American-adventure-gone-wrong.
Please see Purity of Aim: The Book Jacket Designs of Alvin Lustig by Ned Drew and Paul Sternberger, p. 22, for reference to Lustig's jacket design. Dust jacket now preserved in a removable clear archival sleeve.
Synopsis
British writer Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust tells the story of Tony Last, a disillusioned and soon-to-be-divorced country squire, who travels of the jungle of Brazil — only to find himself the prisoner of an unhinged settler who forces him to continuously read aloud the works of Charles Dickens. A Handful of Dust is often grouped with Waugh’s satirical novels prior to World War II; however, because of its serious undertones, it can also been seen as a transitional work to his more substantial postwar fiction. The novel has autobiographical elements, reflecting the author’s own failed marriage and his resulting South American journey in 1933-1934. But on a deeper note, A Handful of Dust illustrates the parallels the savage nature of London society with uncivilized barbarity of the jungle. Waugh first used Tony as the protagonist in his 1933 short story titled The Man Who Liked Dickens. The piece was published in the US in Hearst's International–Cosmopolitan and in Britain in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine. Tony’s story was then serialized — after much revision and expansion — under the title A Flat in London. When it came time to publish the story as a novel, Waugh selected the title A Handful of Dust, inspired by a line in T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust." Upon publication, the critical reception of A Handful of Dust was less than impressive. Yet the novel was and has remained popular with the public and has never been out of print. A Handful of Dust is ranked 34th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also listed as one of TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).
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Details
- Bookseller
- Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books, ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 5724
- Title
- A Handful of Dust
- Author
- WAUGH, Evelyn
- Illustrator
- Alvin Lustig (dust jacket)
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover with Dust Jacket
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Good+
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Early Reprint
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- New Directions
- Place of Publication
- Norfolk, Connecticut
- Date Published
- 1945
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books, ABAA
Biblio member since 2010
Seattle, Washington
About Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books, ABAA
Long Brothers Fine and Rare Books was established in 1996 as a natural progression of proprietor Jeffrey Long's historical and bibliophilic interests. We are located in West Seattle and can be visited by appointment only.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- 12mo
- A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
- Price Clipped
- When a book is described as price-clipped, it indicates that the portion of the dust jacket flap that has the publisher's...
- 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....
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Crisp
- A term often used to indicate a book's new-like condition. Indicates that the hinges are not loosened. A book described as crisp...
- Reprint
- Any printing of a book which follows the original edition. By definition, a reprint is not a first edition.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
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