Tropic of Cancer.
by Henry Miller
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good (BELOW AVERAGE)/No Jacket
- Seller
-
Peter Tavy, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London, UK.: John Calder (Publishers) Ltd., 1963. This is the first edition. Last Rear free endpage is brown in colour. This book will be POSTED AT OUR STANDARD RATES FULLY INSURED (UK) ONLY . Please email for further details. OFFERED FOR SALE BY A FULL-TIME STOCKHOLDING CAREER BOOKSELLER WHO TELLS YOU WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEIR TELEPHONE AND ADDRESS CONTACT DETAILS ARE! POSTED AT OUR STANDARD RATES FULLY INSURED! (UK ONLY). FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL FOR PHOTOGRAPHS AND FURTHER DETAILS.. Not Signed or Inscribed. Grey Cloth (Faded Spine).. Good (BELOW AVERAGE)/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾". HARDBACK.
Synopsis
Henry Miller’s Tropic of Cancer is one of the most notoriously and frequently censored books in the history of American literature. In a combination of autobiography and fiction, the novel centers of Miller’s own life as a struggling writer in Paris in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Tropic of Cancer is written in the first person and lacks linear organization, two of Miller’s most favored techniques. Some chapters are narratives about Miller’s friends and workplaces, and others are stream-of-consciousness-style reflections, but all of the chapters touch on the sexual exploits and general low-life ruthlessness in which the author had engaged at the time. Tropic of Cancer was first published by Obelisk Press, a French publisher of soft pornography, in Paris in 1934. Shortly thereafter, the novel was banned in the US and later tried for charges of obscenity, a trial that challenged American pornography laws at the time. In 1961, the ban of Tropic of Cancer was lifted, and later that year, Grove Press published the first US edition of the novel, but only after the firm’s Barney Rosset offered Miller a sizeable advance and promised to defend the author in any future legal battles regarding the publication. Grove Press’s edition of Tropic of Cancer sold over 1 million copies by the end of 1961… and was the subject of about 60 lawsuits as well, one of which involved the American Civil Liberties Union. All of this hullabaloo makes one wonder what the reactions might have been if Miller had decided to go with the novel’s working title, Crazy Cock — which was, ironically, far more modest than the published version. Regardless, the novel’s 1970 film adaptation, directed by Joseph Strick, received an X rating (meaning no one 17 and under admitted). Today, Tropic of Cancer finds itself ranked 50th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century and 59th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best novels.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Bookfarm
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 572502
- Title
- Tropic of Cancer.
- Author
- Henry Miller
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good (BELOW AVERAGE)
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Publisher
- John Calder (Publishers) Ltd.
- Place of Publication
- London, UK.
- Date Published
- 1963
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾"
Terms of Sale
Bookfarm
Returns accepted within 30 days if book fails to meet description.
About the Seller
Bookfarm
Biblio member since 2004
Peter Tavy
About Bookfarm
Former bricks and mortar stores now wholly online
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Frequently asked questions
What is a first edition?
Even if you’re only peripherally aware of book collecting, you’ve doubtless heard the term, first edition, bandied about but you may still be in the dark as to what makes them such a big deal. Learn about first editions and why collectors value them here.
Collecting Little Golden Books
These iconic childrens board books are collectible if you can find an original in great condition! Learn more about collecting Little Golden Books.
