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The Graduate (First Edition In Dj, Inscribed By Author)
by Webb, Charles
- Used
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Very Good Book/Near Fine DJ
- Seller
-
Pasadena, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: New American Library, 1963. First Edition, First Printing . Cloth/Boards. Very Good Book/Near Fine DJ. 238 Pp. Black Cloth, Gilt, Over Gey Boards With Dark Grey Strips. First Printing Stated. Inscribed "To Tom + Linda / Charles Webb" On The Front Free Endpaper. Book Otherwise Unmarked. Page 41 Was Cut Oversize In Part, The Extra Remaining, With A Corner Crease. Lightly Used, No Fraying To Cloth Or Paper-Covered Boards, Would Be Near Fine. However, Book Was Improperly Stored, Rear Cover Has Indentations To Boards, Without Tears To Paper, And There Is Dampstaining At Upper Corner Of Red Endpapers, With Show-Through On Half Title And A Very Small Area Of The Verso Of The Last Free White Endpaper. There Is No Dampstainig Visible On The Other Pages In The Book, But It Does Show A Light Discoloration In The Orange-Yellow Topstain On The Top Edge Of The Page Block. Dj Is Near New, Not Price Clipped, Faint Wear At Base Of Spine With Three Tiny Tears/Nicks, No Creasing, Slight Fading To Blue Lettering On Spine.
Synopsis
Charles Webb's The Graduate, published in 1963, was a success for the young American writer, a sly and provocative first novel that is often forgotten in the shadow of Mike Nichols' sensational 1967 film and, more recently, an attention-grabbing stage adaptation in London with Kathleen Turner, then Jerry Hall as Mrs. Robinson. Among other things, Webb's novel is a book of its time, written when young Americans were beginning to question, for the first time, the materialistic values that the postwar culture had taught them. Its hero is worldly yet naive, but that won't last for long.The novel dramatizes the post-graduate blues of Benjamin Braddock, an appealing young man of great promise who would seem to have everything going for him. Returning to his parents' home after graduation to ponder his future in the real world, he is depressed. The only thing that rallies him is the attention of Mrs. Robinson, the bored but attractive wife of his father's law partner. Mrs. Robinson makes a play for Benjamin, and he responds. Their affair is far from passionate but it is intense. It continues until Benjamin rediscovers the Robinsons' beautiful daughter Elaine. He falls in love with her but Mrs. Robinson, in a jealous rage, destroys the relationship by telling her daughter of her affair with Benjamin. He is undeterred, following Elaine and forcing her to acknowledge him even as she prepares to marry someone else. For the first time, it seems, Benjamin knows what he wants, and he pursues her right to the altar.The Graduate, for all its crackling humor and addled romance, is also a scathing look at how vacuous and materialistic middle-class American life had become in the middle of the 20th century. What Benjamin does not want to be, it seems, is what is all around him -- his parents, their friends, their things, their values. He is a fascinating character, an attractive young man who seems to be unconnected to his own generation, a carefully tended boy who wants to become a man but does not know how. The wry insight of Webb's The Graduate makes Benjamin Braddock an archetype for a whole generation, a latter-day Holden Caulfield. The Chicago Tribune hailed Webb as "a highly gifted and accomplished writer," and Saturday Review wrote that The Graduate "moves with the speed and drive of a runaway locomotive."
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Details
- Bookseller
- Arroyo Seco Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 021435
- Title
- The Graduate (First Edition In Dj, Inscribed By Author)
- Author
- Webb, Charles
- Format/Binding
- Cloth/Boards
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good Book
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine DJ
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition, First Printing
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- New American Library
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1963
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- General
- Bookseller catalogs
- Rare And Unusual Books; Literature: Twentieth and Twenty-First Century;
Terms of Sale
Arroyo Seco Books
Payment by credit card, check, PayPal or, for orders over $1000, by bank transfer. US Shipping by USPS media mail, at standard rate shown, but large or heavy items may require additional postage. Shipments valued over $200 may be sent with insurance, and/or with signature confirmation required. International shipments sent only by insured USPS mail (Priority Mail or Priority Express Mail or Express Guaranteed). Shipments to the UK may require additional shipping charges to provide insurance as they lack a nationally insured postal system. Sales within California and many other states are subject to sales tax. International shipments may be subject to Customs duties or fees and/or VAT which are the responsibility of the buyer. Postage will not be refunded for unaccepted packages; please review your order for correct addressing.
About the Seller
Arroyo Seco Books
Biblio member since 2013
Pasadena, California
About Arroyo Seco Books
Arroyo Seco Books lists about 26,000 used books in all fields, including physics, art, philosophy, social science, literature, science fiction, etc. We also stock modern and antiquarian prints and other art. Most items are listed in 100 catalogs titled by subject matter, and available on this site. We purchase interesting private libraries. Member of IOBA. Contact: Stephen Clauser, 626-372-3863.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- 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....
- 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...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- 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...
- Half Title
- The blank front page which appears just prior to the title page, and typically contains only the title of the book, although, at...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- 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...
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