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PEAKE**, MERVYN: : TITUS GROAN. [Volume 1 of Gormenghast Trilogy.]

LONDON.EYRE & SPOTTISWODE,PUBLISHER,LTD.,1946.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,slim 8vo HB minus dw/dj,1st edn.[True UK first edn with the 'IS PRODUCED IN COMPLETE CONFORMITY WITH THE AUTHORISED ECONOMY STANDARDS advice/notification,and stated 'Book First published in MCMXLVI' at foot of page on reverse of title page.Uncommon to find a dust-jacketed example in a book of this age and given the period of production,i.e. 1942-1947 - with wartime paper-rationing,quality of paper generally used and survival rates of domestic and industrial air-raids.Any dw/dj would have been of substandard quality and fragility and be prone to subsequent disintegration and usually discarded,or be reverse printed - possibly coming from an entirely different book/title. With this title so few dw/djs were printed in first state and most of the following books of the first printing run have a 2nd impression dw/dj anyway.] VG+.Owner handwritten blue ink name an date April 1946 towards top edge of front free endpaper.Publisher's original brick-red cloth boards with dulled/oxidised blocked lettering to spine/backstrip which this edition is prone to,and plain white endpapers.With some inevitable shelf-wear and rubbing to edges, corners and head+foot of spine/backstrip.All corners minimally bumped - one frayed split/tear at head of spine/backstrip with small nicks, splits or tears to both top+bottom gutter edges of same present.Some unobtrusive surface marks to either board but not excessive.Top+fore-edges aged/toned; contents fairly clean with minimal, sporadic foxing/spotting internally,tight,solid and sound - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.UK,8vo HB minus dw/dj,1st edn,6- 438pp [paginated] includes Pt 1 comprising 69 chapters/sections; plus [unpaginated] half-title,Peake-esque b/w thumbnail illustration within a triple line border edged illustrated title page,Pt 1 separator page,a contents list/ table - all the latter (unpaginated) with minimal,sporadic foxing/spotting,as are the endpapers too. Described hard and detailed,fairly and honestly,but still a very acceptable example of Peake's classic novel,a novel of superb craft, full of intrigue and humour,it is a scathing allegory of British society,from blind deference to tradition to the merciless class system. There are no magic potions,no mythical beasts. The monsters are those we know: the boredom of routine,ruthless self-interest,and foolish vanity. 'Titus Groan' centres on the dark behemoth of Gormenghast,the walled ancestral home of the line of Groan.Crumbling,malignant,with corridors and towers and forgotten wings housing misplaced occupants,it is a living,seething universe.Its inhabitants - hostage to its mind-numbing routine,the original meaning of which is long forgotten - scurry to perform a ceseless flow of rituals. The players are a delightful menagerie of archtypes and caricatures.Lord Sepuchrave,76th Earl of Groan,is morose,exhausted by endless duty; his career wife,Gertrude,is increasingly detached,comfortable only with the birds that nest in her hair and the sea of cats that surrounds her.Sourdust and Barquentine,the librarians,are keepers of the ritual,and Swelter,the demonic porcine cook,is despot in the steaming hell of the Great Kitchens.Mr Flay is Sepulchrave's major-domo,willing to defend tradition to the death.Driving the narrative is Steerpike,low-born and opportunistic,who wheedles,flatters,and manipulates in his Machiavellian quest for power.He will stop at nothing in his relentless journey upward.To this house an heir is born,Titus,the 77th Earl of Groan. Please contact seller,because of the value of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page. ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,slim 8vo HB minus dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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