The Red Badge of Courage An Episode of The American Civil War

E-358: WESTVACO. Very Good. 1968. Hardcover. Hardcover. 8vo. Published by The West Virginia Paper and Pulp Company (Westvaco). 1968. 203 pgs. Illustrated with Black and White Plates. Limited Edition. Paper covered slipcase has light wear present. Bound in black embossed cloth boards with gilt titles present spine. Boards have light wear present. No ownership marks present. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. It is important to note that a circular hole 7/16" (the same as a .45 caliber bullet) in diameter has been drilled through the front board and the first 190 pages of text. This hole does not effect any of the printed text as it is placed in the lower margin of each page. This hole was deliberately produced by the publisher and printer to provide a more realistic appearance for the book. Splashes of "blood" appear on many pages throughout the entire text. As a result of this treatment this volume has since been dubbed the "Red Badge of Courage with the bullet hole". First published in 1895, this small masterpiece set the pattern for the treatment of war in modern fiction. The novel is told through the eyes of Henry Fleming, a young soldier caught up in an unnamed Civil War battle who is motivated not by the unselfish heroism of conventional war stories, but by fear, cowardice, and finally, egotism. However, in his struggle to find reality amid the nightmarish chaos of war, the young soldier also discovers courage, humility, and perhaps, wisdom. Although Crane had never been in battle before writing The Red Badge of Courage, the book was widely praised by experienced soldiers for its uncanny re-creation of the sights, sounds, and sense of actual combat. Its publication brought Crane immediate international fame and established him as a major American writer. Today, nearly a century later, the book ranks as an enduring landmark of American fiction. EB; 8vo 8" - 9" tall .