The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (Canopus in Argos: Archives, Volume 4)

Lessing, Doris May

ISBN 10: 039451906X / ISBN 13: 9780394519067

Published by Alfred A. Knopf Inc., a Borzoi Book, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1982

About this Item

Alfred A. Knopf Inc., a Borzoi Book, New York, New York, U.S.A., 1982. First (1st) Printing (no others stated, per publisher's policy) of the "First Edition" (stated). This is the true first edition, published in the USA in January,1982, and preceding the UK publication by Jonathan Cape in March, 1982. As New in a Fine Dust Jacket. Unread. The Text Block is clean, white, tight, straight and square with deckled fore-edges and no markings of any kind. The Binding is full black cloth (color uniform throughout) with the title blind-stamped to the front board, bright gilt title, etc., to the spine, unmarked white endpapers, and all corners square and sharp. The Dust Jacket is bright, colors uniform throughout, and intact, with a tiny tear to the bottom of the front panel discreetly closed from behind with archival materials, light wear at top, and with the original price ($11.95) intact on the front flap (and an inked in price below it). See photos. 145 + i pages, which includes a 22 page Afterword by the author. 6 1/2" x 9 1/2". Lessing stated in the Afterword to this novel that it and The Sirian Experiments, the previous novel in the series, were inspired in part by her fascination with Scott's ill-fated Antarctic Expedition. The entire five volume Canopus in Argos series, of which this is the fourth novel, was also inspired by her interest in Sufi philosophy. ISBN 10: 039451906X / ISBN 13: 9780394519067.

Seller Inventory # 000628

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (Canopus in Argos: Archives, Volume 4)
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., a Borzoi Book, New York, New York, U.S.A.
• Publication Date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 039451906X
• ISBN 13: 9780394519067
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Planet 8, a prosperous world with intelligent, vital inhabitants, is transformed by an Ice Age, a change that causes a critical variation in lifestyle and a drastic reappraisal of the meaning and value of life

From the Back Cover

'The Making of the Representative for Planet 8' is the fourth volume in Doris Lessing's celebrated space fiction series, 'Canopus in Argos: Archives'. In this interlinked quintet of novels, she creates a new, extraordinary cosmos where the fate of the Earth is influenced by the rivalries and interactions of three powerful galactic empires, Canopus, Sirius and their enemy, Puttiora. Blending myth, fable and allegory, Doris Lessing's astonishing visionary creation both reflects and redefines the history of our own world from its earliest beginnings to an inevitable, tragic self-destruction.

'The Making of the Representative for Planet 8' tells the story of the inhabitants of a remote outpost of the Canopean empire. Harmonious, serene and blessed with a tropical climate, the planet's future is threatened by an incipient Ice Age. As the first snowflakes begin to fall and the struggle for survival begins, Doeg, a trusted representative reporting to the leaders of Canopus, begins to record the downfall of his race.

'The Making of the Representative for Planet 8' has been made into an opera by Philip Glass.

"Doris Lessing's descriptions of the landscape are superb: the accounts of the coldness are spectacular. It is hard not to see in this ice age and in the hopes held out and then betrayed, a metaphor of our own times."
HILARY BAILEY, 'Guardian'

"The extraordinary way in which Planet 8 is transmogrified from a happy world bathed in sunshine to the site of the New Ice Age came over as if set down in a Bible. The building of the huge black wall, the crime and fighting as glaciers and snow spread, all combine in sweep and detail to form an unforgettable picture."
MARTYN GOFF, 'Daily Telegraph'