TROPIC OF CANCER
by Miller Henry
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Grove Press, 1961. First authorized and first trade edition issued in America. With a long introduction by Karl Shapiro and a preface by Anais Nin. 8vo., publisher's original cloth backed boards in dustjacket. xxxiii, 318 pp. A handsome, clean and pleasing copy, some light evidence of age or shelving to the dustjacket, the book very fine. FIRST AUTHORIZED AND FIRST TRADE EDITION ISSUED IN AMERICA. Of the book, John Ciardi said, [it] "is a substantial work of art. The violence of Miller's attack on orthodoxy and falseness is indispensable to his human vision of things. In [the book] the test is ferocity, a ferocious and yet naive sincerity that castigates all sham. It cannot fail to be moral finally, because the ferocity is radically moral. And because the author is an artist--a very good one, as the continued 'underground life' of the book attests." Ours is a very nice copy of this classic.
Synopsis
Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer is one of the most notoriously and frequently censored books in the history of American literature. In a combination of autobiography and fiction, the novel centers of Miller’s own life as a struggling writer in Paris in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is written in the first person and lacks linear organization, two of Miller’s most favored techniques. Some chapters are narratives about Miller’s friends and workplaces, and others are stream-of-consciousness-style reflections, but all of the chapters touch on the sexual exploits and general low-life ruthlessness in which the author had engaged at the time. Tropic of Cancer was first published by Obelisk Press, a French publisher of soft pornography, in Paris in 1934. Shortly thereafter, the novel was banned in the US and later tried for charges of obscenity, a trial that challenged American pornography laws at the time. In 1961, the ban of Tropic of Cancer was lifted, and later that year, Grove Press published the first US edition of the novel, but only after the firm’s Barney Rosset offered Miller a sizeable advance and promised to defend the author in any future legal battles regarding the publication. Grove Press’s edition of Tropic of Cancer sold over 1 million copies by the end of 1961… and was the subject of about 60 lawsuits as well, one of which involved the American Civil Liberties Union. All of this hullabaloo makes one wonder what the reactions might have been if Miller had decided to go with the novel’s working title, Crazy Cock — which was, ironically, far more modest than the published version. Regardless, the novel’s 1970 film adaptation, directed by Joseph Strick, received an X rating (meaning no one 17 and under admitted). Today, Tropic of Cancer finds itself ranked 50th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century and 59th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best novels.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Buddenbrooks, Inc.
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 25851
- Title
- TROPIC OF CANCER
- Author
- Miller Henry
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Grove Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1961
Terms of Sale
Buddenbrooks, Inc.
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About the Seller
Buddenbrooks, Inc.
Biblio member since 2009
Newburyport, Massachusetts
About Buddenbrooks, Inc.
Buddenbrooks has one of the finest collections of landmark, rare books and manuscripts in the world. Our intention is to provide great books or manuscripts in excellent condition. We enjoy sharing our passion and expertise with anyone interested in fine and rare books. And we also look forward to the opportunity to meet you. We maintain premises in the heart of historic Newburyport which are reminiscent of a European style librarie. We encourage you to visit our shop where books are beautifully presented in fine library cabinets in a sophisticated environment. We are also available by appointment only to meet with clients in Boston, where we also have maintained a presence for over 40 years. If you see an item which interests you or if you would like to learn more about our offerings, please contact us via telephone, fax or e-mail.
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