A Streetcar Named Desire by Williams, Tennessee - 1947

New York: New Directions, 1947. First edition. about Fine/Near Fine. A sharp copy of this theater and film highspot. A just about Fine copy of the book with minor discoloration to the spine ends. In a lovely, Near Fine dust jacket with a little nick at the top of the rear panel, minor creasing at the crown and some offsetting on the front flap. One short tear on the rear panel reinforced on the blank verso with tape. But a copy that displays almost none of the ubiquitous toning and fading so often seen and, therefore, is quite unusual. Tennessee Williams' 1947 masterpiece, a Pulitzer Prize winning work that remains one of the great plays of the American theatre. A Streetcar Named Desire follows Blanche DuBois as she moves to New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella, and Stella's husband Stanley. Like many of Williams' plays, some of the characters are thought to be inspired by members of Williams' own family. A Streetcar Named Desire originally premiered on Broadway on December 3rd 1949, starring Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy and directed by Eliza Kazan. The London production involved such theatrical luminaries as Vivian Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Of course, the play would be adapted in a classic film version in 1951, which would win four Academy Awards including Best Actress, and was chosen as the Library of Congress as 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.' "But Mr. Williams is entitled to his own independence. For he has not forgotten that human beings are the basic subject of art. Out of poetic imagination and ordinary compassion he has spun a poignant and luminous story" (Contemporary New York Times review). about Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.