BECKET ou l'Honneur de Dieu. by Anouilh, Jean - (1959).

Paris: La Table Ronde, (1959)., (1959).. Good. INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY JEAN ANOUILH AND HIS SON - Octavo, softcover bound in printed cream wrappers. The binding is lightly soiled with some small stains & the corners of the wraps are creased. The spine & the adjacent edges of the wraps are darkened. 209 & [1] pages plus colophon, partially unopened. The pages are darkened. Good. <p>First trade edition, with the date "12-59" on the rear cover.<p>Inscribed in French by the playwright on the half-title and signed by Anouilh and his son: "Pour Honoria Plesch avec l'heureuse surprise de la sympathie des voisins abusifs et reconnaissants / Jean Anouilh et Nicolas". The words "et Nicolas" appear to be in a child's hand.<p>Jean Anouilh [1910-1987] was a French playwright whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, he is best known for his 1943 adaptation of Sophocles' "Antigone". The play was seen as an attack on Marshal Petain's Vichy government. Anouilh was one of France's most prolific writers in the postwar period. Much of his work addresses themes of maintaining integrity in a world of moral compromise.<p>Costume designer Honoria Plesch [1919-1990] was born in Berlin. In 1933, together with her brother Peter and her family, she left Germany and emigrated to England. Her most important professional assignment was as costume designer for the 1947 film "Brighton Rock" starring Richard Attenborough. Plesch was apparently Anouilh's neighbor for a time in Switzerland.<p>The text is in French.