About this Item
A later printing of the first edition in English translation, published in 1924 in the Popular Edition of the Works of Anatole France. Translated from the French by A. W. Evans. The John Lane translation was originally published in 1909, a year after the book came out in France, published by Calmann-Lévy as "L'Île des Pingouins". ***Very good in pale orange cloth-covered boards, with gilt titles and rules on the spine, and blind-stamped titles and rules on the front board. The gilt is still beautifully bright, having been protected by the dustwrapper. The boards are clean and undamaged, with just some light dust soiling at the edges. No bumps or tears to the cloth, just slight creasing to the top and tail of the spine. Corners sharp, with just a slight crease to the top corner tip of the front board. Top edge of page block slightly darkened but not foxed. Fore edge slightly foxed. Internally also very good with a contemporary gift inscription - 'Kathleen Mary Hill from Dad, Jan 27th 1925' - on the front pastedown. Pages clean and fresh without any creasing. Printed on thin but nice quality paper. ***In a very good original printed dustwrapper, which is priced 2/6 net on the spine. The dustwrapper is complete without any chips or tears. There is some edge wear and rubbing but no loss. Light strips of fading around the spine of the dustwrapper, and some slight browning to the spine of the dustwrapper. Dustwrapper bright. ***345 pages including a two-page publisher's advertisement at the back of the book. 190 mm x 130 mm. ***'Anatole France, born François-Anatole Thibault (16 April 1844 - 12 October 1924), was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie Française, and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his brilliant literary achievements, characterized as they are by a nobility of style, a profound human sympathy, grace, and a true Gallic temperament.' ***'"Penguin Island" is written in the style of a sprawling 18th and 19th-century history book, concerned with grand metanarratives, mythologizing heroes, hagiography and romantic nationalism. It is about a fictitious island, inhabited by great auks, that existed off the northern coast of Europe. The history begins when a wayward Christian missionary monk lands on the island and perceives the upright, unafraid auks as a sort of pre-Christian society of noble pagans. Mostly blind from reflections from the polar ice and somewhat deaf from the roar of the sea, having mistaken the animals for humans, he baptizes them. This causes a problem for The Lord, who normally only allows humans to be baptized. After consulting with saints and theologians in Heaven, He resolves the dilemma by converting the baptized birds to humans with only a few physical traces of their ornithological origin, and giving them each a soul. Thus begins the history of Penguinia, and from there forward the history mirrors that of France (and more generally of Western Europe, including German-speaking areas and the British Isles).' [Wiki] ***A later printing of the first edition in English translation, published in 1924 in the Popular Edition of the Works of Anatole France, complete in its original dustwrapper. A nice production of this famous work of French literature - preceding the more commonly found 1929 illustrated edition. A well-preserved copy of this famous work in an attractive format. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc. Seller Inventory # 8073
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Bibliographic Details
Title: PENGUIN ISLAND - L'Île des Pingouins [Later ...
Publisher: John Lane / The Bodley Head, London
Publication Date: 1924
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
Edition: First Edition in English
