A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
Knowles drew on his own experiences at a New England boarding school in order to write this haunting story about the friendship between Gene and Finny. Effectively polar opposites and yet fiercely devoted to each other, Gene and Finny develop a rivalry that sustains each of them. Gene especially tries to emulate Finny's positive qualities to make himself better. But their friendship takes a dark turn as a result of a rash decision that Gene makes while the two are perched on a tree branch. The fallout and ensuing tragedy haunt Gene for the rest of his life. A Separate Peace is a stirring meditation on adolescence, masculinity, guilt, and friendship.
Knowles's classic is an uneasy coming-of-age, set at a boys' boarding school among the desperately carefree 16-year-olds of 1942: too young, still, to be drafted into the war outside; too old to evade the responsibilities and the guilt that follows from the breaking of their fraught and fragile private bonds.
First Edition Identification
Secker & Warburg published the First UK Edition, First Printing hardcover in London, 1959.
The Macmillan Company published the First US Edition, First Printing hardcover in New York, 1960.
Other Collectible or Notable Editions
Collectors’ Reprint Inc published a First Edition Facsimile as part of the First Editions Library Collection in 1987. This edition was created to replicate the original First US printing, published in 1960.
Scribner published a First Edition, Third Printing hardcover in New York, 1996.
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
- Condition
- Used - Near Fine in Very Good+ dust jacket
- Edition
- First Edition; First Printing
- Published
- 1960
- Binding
- Hardcover
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Northridge, California, USA
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A$621.62
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
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- Jacket Condition
- Very good
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- First edition
- Published
- 1959
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Brooklyn, New York, USA
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A SEPARATE PEACE
by Knowles, John
- Condition
- Used - Near fine in near-fine jacket.
- Edition
- First printing
- Published
- 1960
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Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
- Item Price
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A$5,439.35
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
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- 1959
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Portland, Oregon, USA
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A$2,486.56
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
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- Very Good
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- First Printing.
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- 1959
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- Hardcover
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south dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
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- Edition
- First Edition
- Published
- 1959
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
- Item Price
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A$3,108.20
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
- Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Published
- 1960
- Binding
- Hardcover
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Ridgewood, New York, USA
- Item Price
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A$233.12
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A SEPARATE PEACE: A NOVEL - ADVANCE COPY
by Knowles, John
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- Used
- Edition
- First American Edition
- Published
- 1960
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Stephenson, Virginia, USA
- Item Price
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
- Condition
- Used - acceptable
- Jacket Condition
- none
- Published
- 1964
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Los Angeles, California, USA
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
- Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Edition
- Reprint
- Published
- 1974
- Binding
- Pictorial Cover
- ISBN 10
- 0435121324
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Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, GBR
- Item Price
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A$9.80
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John (Author)
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- New
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- No Jacket
- Published
- 2003
- Binding
- Softcover
- ISBN 10
- 0743253973
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- 1
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Richland, Washington, USA
- Item Price
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A$27.97
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
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- New
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- Paperback / softback
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- 0743253973
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Southport, Merseyside, GBR
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A$26.34
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Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
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- Used - Collectible - Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 1199230669
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Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
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A$1,087.87
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
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GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, GBR
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A$3.72
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
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- Used - Good
- Published
- 2003-09-30
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- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0743253973
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- 1
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Houston, Texas, USA
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A$8.00
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A SEPARATE PEACE (signed presentation copy)
by Knowles, John
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Glen Head, New York, USA
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A$613.87
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
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Oxford, Mississippi, USA
- Item Price
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A$916.92
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
- Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Published
- 1996
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0684833662
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Seattle, Washington, USA
- Item Price
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A$10.01
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A Separate Peace
by Knowles, John
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- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0553280414
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GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, GBR
- Item Price
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A$12.70
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A Separate Peace
by John Knowles
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- Used - Good
- ISBN 10
- 0743253973
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Item Price
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A$5.95