Buy this book on-line

Jones, Edward P : The Known World

Amistad, New York, 2003

ISBN 0060557540

388pp. A Pulitzer Prize winning historical novel written by an African American, 8vo, Fine in Fine DJ

3rd Printing

Jones, Edward P : The Known World

HarperCollins Publishers, New York City, NY, 2003

ISBN 0060557540

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 388 pages. The author's debut novel. One of the greatest American novels of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the Easton Press edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Edward P. Jones' "The Known World". His masterly first novel. Written over a ten-year period by a writer whose breakthrough book, "Lost in the City: Stories", is now also considered a classic, it is one of the most beautifully produced books (by Laura Blost) in recent memory, utilizing a classic photograph by Eudora Welty. "Henry Townsend, born a slave, is purchased and freed by his father, takes lessons in slave owning when he eventually buys his own slaves. Townsend is part of a small enclave of free blacks who own slaves, thus offering another angle on the complexities of slavery and social relations in a Virginia town just before The Civil War. His widow, Caldonia, grief-stricken and more conflicted about slavery than Henry was, fails to maintain the social order. Also caught in the miasma of slavery is Sheriff John Skiffington, an honorable man who, when presented with a slave, spends the remainder of his marriage, along with his wife, dithering about how to deal with the girl and ends up treating her like a daughter. These are only a few of the deftly portrayed characters in this elegantly written novel that explores the interweaving of sex, race, and class. Jones moves back and forth in time, making the reader omniscient, knowing what will eventually befall the characters despite their best and worst efforts, their aspirations, and their moral failings. This is a profoundly beautiful and insightful look at American slavery and human nature" (Publisher's blurb). An absolute "must-have" title for Edward P. Jones collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Edward P. Jones. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page, as the so-called Limited Edition by Easton Press is. As is his custom, Jones also underlined his signature for emphasis. This title is great book. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online command as much as $500. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Winner of PEN/Hemingway Award in 1992 for "Lost In The City: Stories". Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction in 2003 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2004 for "The Known World". Winner of the MacArthur Genius Grant in 2004. "The Known World" was selected by The New York Times panel of writers, critics, and editors as one of the Top 20 works of American fiction of the last 25 years. One of the finest American writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER EDWARD P. JONES TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0060557540.

1
1

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.