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A HANDFUL OF DUST
by WAUGH, Evelyn:
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Chapman and Hall. September 1934. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Publisher's original snake-skin effect cloth with titles in gilt to the spine, in dustwrapper and retaining the original wraparound band. A lovely near fine copy, the binding very bright and square with a bump to the fore-edge. The contents are very clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the excellent original dustwrapper which has a few tiny nicks at the extremities with some gentle toning of the spine. This copy retains the rare publisher's wraparound band which has a clean closed tear, with an old tape repair to the reverse and some creasing to the lightly faded spine. Housed in a bespoke quarter black morocco solander case. A scarce title in dustwrapper, exceptionally so in original condition. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.
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
- Lucius Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 12615
- Title
- A HANDFUL OF DUST
- Author
- WAUGH, Evelyn:
- Book Condition
- Used
- Edition
- First edition, first printing
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: Chapman and Hall. September 1934
Terms of Sale
Lucius Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Lucius Books
Biblio member since 2015
York, North Yorkshire
About Lucius Books
Our shop is located in central York within a stones throw of the historic Micklegate Bar and walls. We are open seven days a week and carry a high quality stock specialising in but not limited to first editions, signed copies, bound sets and childrens / illustrated books and original art. Our opening times are 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 4pm on Sundays.Lucius Books is proud to be a full member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) trade associations. If you are unable to make it to the shop then our stock is available to view on our website at www.luciusbooks.com
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Morocco
- Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...
- 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...
- 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....
- Dustwrapper
- Also known as book jacket, dust cover, or dust wrapper, a dust jacket is a protective and decorative cover for a book that is...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- 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...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
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