Exiles – James Joyce
VG 3rd Print Paperback

Description

For sale: a Rare and Exceptional first US paperback edition third printing of Exiles: A Play in Three Acts by James Joyce. First Edition described, 1951 Viking Press. Third Printing 1965 stated and a 95 cent cover price.

The book is in Very Good condition with clean, faded boards, strong title ink on a square spine, a few spots on page blocks, tight binding, no spine tilt, lightly rubbed spine ends, mild edge wear, and rounded corners. The interior of the book is in Near Fine condition with an erased price on the first free end paper. No other marks, inscriptions or signs of ownership inside. The inside covers and the interior pages are clean and lightly toned, making it an excellent addition to any collection.

The only extant play by the great Irish novelist, Exiles is of interest both for its autobiographical content and for formal reasons. In the characters and their circumstances details of Joyce’s life are evident. The main character, Richard Rowan, the moody, tormented writer who is at odds with both his wife and the parochial Irish society around him, is clearly a portrait of Joyce himself. The character of Rowan’s wife, Bertha, is certainly influenced by Joyce’s lover and later wife, Nora Barnacle, with whom he left Ireland and lived a seminomadic existence in Zurich, Rome, Trieste, and Paris. As in real life, the play depicts the couple with a young son and, like Joyce, Rowan has returned to Ireland because of his mother’s illness and subsequent death.

Ships promptly in a secure mailer with book wrapped in both craft paper and bubble wrap.