About this Item
So here is a nice thing: This book is signed and inscribed by Maxwell Geismar to his wife. Geismar wrote the introduction. He also wrote the introduction to Eldridge Cleaver's Soul On Ice, and was a very well-regarded literary critic, editor and author in his own right. The inscription reads 'To Anne, In Crisis (?) from her writer with much love, admiration, respect, affection, Max, Harrison (that's where they lived) Jan 15, 68.' This novel was first published in England in 1949 under the title All Things Betrayed Thee. It was published in the United States the same year by Little, Brown and Company under the present title. 'Because it is such an outstanding book, Monthly Review Press has reissued it in this new edition introduced by Maxwell Geismar.' Mr. Geismar states "On the surface, this is a 'romantic' novel in the old-fashioned tradition which carries us back, apparently, to an earlier day when literature was designed to entertain. From the very first page you know you are going to enjoy the story, it is a treat to read. Once this literary magician has caught us in his web, other things begin to happen. When the Harpist enters the Little Welsh town of Moonlea in the late summer of 1835, in order to persuade his friend John Simon Adams to return with him to the wild Northern Hills, we are thrown into the midst of the Industrial Revolution. The early Industrial Revolution, that is, and in the pages of this novel we feel as though we are right there in the very midst of things just when they are happening. It is a unique sensation and I just haven't read any other novel like this one. As fiction, as art, as a beautiful story, it is a remarkable achievement." Perhaps not quite as remarkable, but still positively, this book is in very good condition. As you can see from the photos, the covers are very clean. The corners and edges look very good. The spine ends have a little crinkling, the bottom one a thin line of color fade. The silver lettering on the spine is very bright and unworn. The spine is moderately slanted forward. The book is very solidly bound from cover to cover, nicely tight, absolutely no binding issues. The pages are very clean. I'm scrolling through without finding any soiling at all, and that is also the case for the inside covers and end papers. There are no turned-down creases, no dogeared corners. No markings. No attachments. And with the exception of Mr. Geismar's signed inscription, no one has written their name or anything else anywhere in the book. The only imperfection with regard to the pages is a couple of nicks to the middle page edge. The impact on the actual pages is minimal, just a little nicking there as well, no tears. You can see the dust jacket in the first few photos. It's in very nice shape, very clean. There's a little rubbing at the top edge of the spine and in a few other places, quite minor. The flaps are in very good condition. They have light toning at the margins. They are very clean. The jacket is NOT price-clipped, not clipped at all. I've always had it in a fitted protective cover. One last quote from the New York Times Book Review: 'Gwyn Thomas has cast his spell quite irrevocably upon us. Yet enchantment is not the purpose. What one encounters here are reality and the tragic elements of dream.'. Seller Inventory # 002420
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