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Native Son
by Wright, Richard
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Dust Jacket Included
- Seller
-
Beverly Hills, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
NY: Harper, 1940, 1940. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Dust Jacket Included. Published in New York by Harper & Brothers in 1940. First Edition is stated on copyright page. Book near fine except for slight wearing on spine ends and corners, fading and discoloration (spotting) on paste downs, free end pages, and randomly throughout inside pages. DJ (facsimile) fine. DJ price reads "2.50.
Synopsis
Richard Wright’s Native Son tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black American youth living in utter poverty in Chicago's South Side during the 1930s. When Bigger unintentionally murders a white woman, he is put on trial and eventually convicted, and sentenced to the electric chair. Often recognized as a protest novel, Native Son stresses systemic racial issues, prompting the reader to feel both sympathy and empathy for Bigger. In this, the novel is one of the earliest successful attempts to explain the racial divide in America in terms of the conditions imposed on African-Americans by the dominant white society. Soon after publication, Native Son was selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African-American author. Indeed, the novel was an immediate best seller, selling 250,000 hardcover copies within three weeks of its publication. As a result of the novel’s success, Wright became the first bestselling and the wealthiest black writer of his time, establishing him as a spokesperson for African-American issues and, to many, the “father of Black American literature.” In 1941, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded Wright awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal. Unsurprisingly, Native Son was challenged in many public schools and libraries and is listed in the American Library Association's list of the “Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999.” Yet most institutions in which the novel was challenged successfully fought to keep Wright's work accessible, particularly in the classroom, defending it as a guide into the reality of the complex adult and social world. Native son is listed as 20th on the Modern Library’s list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also included in TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).
Read More: Identifying first editions of Native Son
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Details
- Bookseller
- Bookbid Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 005134
- Title
- Native Son
- Author
- Wright, Richard
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Dust Jacket Included
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Publisher
- NY: Harper, 1940
- Date Published
- 1940
Terms of Sale
Bookbid Rare 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
Bookbid Rare Books
Biblio member since 2009
Beverly Hills, California
About Bookbid Rare Books
Bookbid Rare Books is a rare book dealer located in Beverly Hills, California. The family run company has sold modern literary first editions and children's books for over 20 years. Member of ABAA, ILAB.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- 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...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- 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....
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