A Handful Of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

British writer Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust tells the story of Tony Last, a disillusioned and soon-to-be-divorced country squire, who travels of the jungle of Brazil — only to find himself the prisoner of an unhinged settler who forces him to continuously read aloud the works of Charles Dickens. A Handful of Dust is often grouped with Waugh’s satirical novels prior to World War II; however, because of its serious undertones, it can also been seen as a transitional work to his more substantial postwar fiction. The novel has autobiographical elements, reflecting the author’s own failed marriage and his resulting South American journey in 1933-1934. But on a deeper note, A Handful of Dust illustrates the parallels the savage nature of London society with uncivilized barbarity of the jungle.

Waugh first used Tony as the protagonist in his 1933 short story titled The Man Who Liked Dickens. The piece was published in the US in Hearst's International–Cosmopolitan and in Britain in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine. Tony’s story was then serialized — after much revision and expansion — under the title A Flat in London. When it came time to publish the story as a novel, Waugh selected the title A Handful of Dust, inspired by a line in T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

Upon publication, the critical reception of A Handful of Dust was less than impressive. Yet the novel was and has remained popular with the public and has never been out of print. A Handful of Dust is ranked 34th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also listed as one of TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923). 

First Edition Identification

Chapman and Hall first published A Handful of Dust in 1934. First editions are bound in red and black “snakeskin” cloth with gilt lettering on the spine and have no additional printings listed on the copyright page.

Other Collectible or Notable Editions

Farrar & Rinehart published the first US edition of A Handful of Dust in New York in 1934.

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A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Good
Edition
First Edition Thus
Published
1944
Binding
Cloth
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Media, Pennsylvania, USA
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New York: Little Brown & Company, 1944. First Edition Thus. Cloth. Very Good/Good. Hardcover/ DJ (has price $2.50), VG/ Good+ condition. C. 1934 by author; First Little Brown Edition, published 1944 (same year on title page) & stated 2nd printing- August, 1944 (1st was June, 1944). Red pictorial DJ (w/ rider & hounds) is Good+ to… Read more about this item
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A Handful Of Dust.

A Handful Of Dust.

by Waugh, Evelyn

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Used
Published
1934
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Palm Beach, Florida, USA
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London: Chapman and Hall, 1934. First edition of the author's masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. A near fine copy in the rare dust jacket which shows some wear and tear. Signed by Evelyn Waugh. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare especially in the original dust jacket and signed. Few writers have walked the line between farce and… Read more about this item
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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Evelyn Waugh

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Used - Very Good+
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Published
1945
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San Francisco, California, USA
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VG+ / G+ 1945 New Directions, 1st printing thus. Hardcover with dust jacket. Nice tight copy of book, with previous owner name on FFEP. Jacket is in nice shape, aside from the obvious chip to the front cover. Price clipped. Alvin Lustig cover design.
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a handful of dust

by Evelyn Waugh

Condition
Used - Near Fine
Jacket Condition
Good+
Edition
First Thus
Published
1945
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Carrollton, Texas, USA
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Beige boards with brown writing on spine; top of book spine slightly rumpled. Scuff mark on inside of back board; front dust jacket has chipping on top edges that continues across top of dust jacket spine. Top dust jacket also has small tear and cracking at bottom of edge; price of $1.75 on front dust jacket flap. "NC8" symbol… Read more about this item
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A Handful Of Dust.

A Handful Of Dust.

by Waugh, Evelyn

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Used
Published
1934
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Palm Beach, Florida, USA
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London: Chapman and Hall, 1934. First edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, original cloth. In near fine condition, contemporary name to the front free endpaper. A very sharp example. Few writers have walked the line between farce and tragedy as nimbly as Evelyn Waugh, who employed the conventions of the comic novel to chip away at the already… Read more about this item
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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Evelyn Waugh

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Used - Very Good
Edition
1st Edition
Published
1934
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Tarrington, Herefordshire, GBR
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London: Chapman and Hall Ltd., 1934. 1st Edition . Very Good. 5.25 x 7.5 inches (13 x 19 cm). First printing. Lacking jacket. Red and black snakeskin cloth binding. Slight fading to spine. Light browning to page edges. Foxing to lower page edge. Foxing to first and last few pages, occasional patches within the text. Frontis by J.D.M.… Read more about this item
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A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

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Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Good
Edition
First American Edition.
Published
1934
Binding
Paperback
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Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA
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New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1934 New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1934 Farrar & Rinehart colophon on copywrite page. Text is clean, tight, unmarked. Rose-colored cloth boards have title and author stamped in gold on front cover. Also a flower stamped sans gold. Spine is bumped, lightly soiled at corners, ends of spine. DJ illustrated with jungle flowers in red,… Read more about this item
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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

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Used - Very Good-
Published
2014
ISBN 10
0316926051
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Olympia, Washington, USA
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Little wear. Pages are clean and tight and the spine has just one crease. Originally published in 1934, this edition was released in conjunction with the release of a movie based upon the book. A satire on upper class British life where the characters all seem to have money, but little else.
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A HANDFUL OF DUST
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A HANDFUL OF DUST

by WAUGH, Evelyn:

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Used
Edition
First edition, first printing
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York, North Yorkshire, GBR
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London: Chapman and Hall. September 1934. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Publisher's original snake-skin effect cloth with titles in gilt to the spine, in dustwrapper and retaining the original wraparound band. A lovely near fine copy, the binding very bright and square with a bump to the fore-edge. The contents are very clean throughout and without… Read more about this item
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A Handful of Dust (Penguni Books No 822 First Printing)

by Waugh, Evelyn

Condition
Used - Good
Edition
1st Edition 1st Printing
Published
1951
Binding
Paperback
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Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, GBR
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Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, Limited, 1951. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Paperback. Good. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. First edition first printing as Penguin paperback 224 pages Page edges tanned otherwise Good condition.No inscriptions
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A$19.60
Handful of Dust

Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
later printing
Published
1962
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10
0316926051
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Monroe, Michigan, USA
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clean, tight and square, no spine crease, no tears or creases, corner tips are bumped, text is clean and unmarked; movie tie-in cover, later printing
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A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust

by Evelyn Waugh

Condition
Used - Good
Published
1977
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10
0316926051
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Seattle, Washington, USA
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Little Brown & Company, 1977. Paperback. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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A Handful of Dust (Twentieth Century Classics)

by Evelyn Waugh

Condition
Used; Good
Published
04/26/1990
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10
014018239x
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London, Greater London, GBR
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Penguin Books Ltd, 04/26/1990. Paperback. Used; Good. **WE SHIP WITHIN 24 HRS FROM LONDON, UK, 98% OF OUR ORDERS ARE RECEIVED WITHIN 7-10 DAYS. We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! Greener Books.
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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

Condition
Used - Very Good Condition
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Edition
Reprint
Published
1988
Binding
Softcover
ISBN 10
0140111506
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King River, Western Australia, AUS
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Penguin Books , London, 1988. Reprint. Softcover. Very Good Condition/Very Good. First Movie Tie-in edition. Size: 12mo Small. 221 pages. Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. No foxing in this copy. All edges clean, neat and free of foxing. The… Read more about this item
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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Published
2001
ISBN 10
0760725179
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Olympia, Washington, USA
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A$7.77

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Little wear. Originally published in 1934. Described as parts tragedy, comedy and irony, with a major dose of cynicism. The breakdown of a marriage equates to the breakdown of society and expresses Waugh's feeling about the breakdown of his own marriage. Pages are clean tight and unmarked.
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A$7.77
A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

Condition
Used
Published
1945
Binding
Hardcover
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Schenectady, New York, USA
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A$74.60

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New York: New Directions, 1945. Hardcover. Tan cloth stamped in brown on the spine panel. Upper front corner bruised, previous owner's bookplate on front pastedown endpaper. About near fine in very good dustjacket with light soiling, chipping along the edges and which retains the $1.50 price on the front flap. ; Octavo.
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A$74.60
A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

Condition
Used - Good+
Edition
The New Classics Series
Published
1934
Binding
Hardcover
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Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
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A$772.39

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New York, NY: Little, Brown & Co, 1934. The New Classics Series. Hardcover. Good+. Unclipped dust jacket, tan with chips on top and bottom edges and spine. Good copy in the original red cloth boards. Slight dust-dulling to the spine bands and panel edges. Previous owner's name on ffep. Pages are otherwise clean and unmarked.
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A$772.39
A handful of Dust [English Edition]

A handful of Dust [English Edition]

by Waugh, Evelyn

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Used
Published
1945
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Neuendorf, DEU
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A$30.26

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The New Classics - New Directions, New York, 1945. Englischsprachige Hardcoverausgabe, 308 Seiten. Einige erste und einige letzte Seiten etwas fleckig (some first and some last Pages somewhat stained).
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A$30.26
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A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn

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Used - Good
ISBN 10
0316926051
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Frederick, Maryland, USA
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Back Bay Books. Used - Good. Good condition. Slightly dampstained.
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A Handful of Dust

by Evelyn Waugh

Condition
Used - Good
Published
1999-09
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10
0316926051
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HOUSTON, Texas, USA
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Back Bay Books, 1999-09. Paperback. Good.
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