Click for full-size.
Jennie Gerhardt
by Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (1871-1945)
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/About very good
- Seller
-
Fort Worth, Texas, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
433 pages with frontispiece. Small octavo (7 1/2" x 5 1/4") bound in original publisher's blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine and cover with black design in original jacket. First edition in first state binding and second state text.
Jennie Gerhardt was Theodore Dreiser's second novel and his first true commercial success. Today it is generally regarded as one of his three best novels, along with Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy. As submitted to Harper and Brothers in 1911, Jennie Gerhardt was a powerful study of a woman tragically compromised by birth and fate. Harpers agreed to publish the book but was nervous about its subject matter and moral stance. Jennie has an illegitimate child by one man and lives out of wedlock with another - but Dreiser does not condemn her for her behavior. As a requirement for publication, Harpers insisted on cutting and revising the text. Although Dreiser fought against many of the cuts and succeeded in restoring some material, Harpers shortened the text by 16,000 words and completely revised its style and tone. These changes ultimately transformed Jennie Gerhardt from a blunt, carefully documented work of social realism to a touching love story merely set against a social background. Passages critical of organized religion and of the institution of marriage were reduced and altered. Perhaps most important, Jennie's point of view - her innate romantic mysticism - was largely edited out of the text. As a consequence, the central dialectic of the novel was skewed and the narrative thrown out of balance.
Condition:
Cloth spine lightly sunned with some rubbing, previous owner's signatures to front blank and rear paste down. Jacket panels and spine toned and chipped, tears at jacket joints and edges else a very good copy in about a very good infrequently found jacket.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- L0526
- Title
- Jennie Gerhardt
- Author
- Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (1871-1945)
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- About very good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Harper & Brothers
- Place of Publication
- New York and London
- Date Published
- 1911
- Pages
- 433 pages with frontispiece
- Size
- Small octavo
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Classic Literature
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
Terms of Sale
The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA
All items are guaranteed as described. If an item is
not as described, it is returnable within seven days
of receipt, unless other arrangements are made.
Full refunds given only when items are received in
the same condition in which they were sent.
We require new customers to send payment with
their order. Customers known to us will be invoiced
with payment due in thirty days, unless prior
arrangements are made. Institutions will be billed
to meet their requirements. All items subject to prior
sale.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express
Please be advised that we can only ship to your billing address.
We accept checks, but may require that the check clears before we ship an order.
Prices of books do not include shipping.
We use UPS domestically and internationally. Other shipping arrangements can be made. Shipping is always charged at cost.
Texas residents must add 8.25% sales tax.
About the Seller
The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA
Biblio member since 2005
Fort Worth, Texas
About The Book Collector ABAA, ILAB, TBA
The Book Collector specializes in the finest collections of Chess, Anthropology, Americana and American Literature. Visit our website at www.bookcollectorshop.com
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- 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....
- Second State
- used in book collecting to refer to a first edition, but after some change has been made in the printing, such as a correction,...
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- 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...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- First State
- used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Is your family bible valuable?
While they may have sentimental value, bibles passed down through the family are not often worth a lot of money. Learn more...
