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THE HANDMAID'S TALE - UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY IN TRIAL DUSTJACKET
by Atwood, Margaret
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Stephenson, Virginia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Jonathan Cape, 1986. First U.K. Edition. Atwood's chilling dystopian novel, set in "a world ruled by militaristic fundamentalists in which sexual pleasure is forbidden. Conception and childbirth have become difficult and the handmaid of the title belongs to a special breeding stock. The story is annotated by a historian of the future, whose shape is not revealed" (Barron, Anatomy of Wonder 4-31). Winner of the Governor General's Award, the first Arthur C. Clarke Award, and a nominee for both the 1986 Booker Prize and Nebula Award. Basis for Volker Schlöndorff's 1990 film adaptation, starring Natasha Richardson, Faye Dunaway, and Robert Duvall, as well as the Emmy Award-winning TV miniseries on HULU. Uncommon in the proof state, especially in the dustjacket. First Impression, with preliminary leaf giving a provisional publication date of 13 March 1986. Octavo (22.5cm); original red printed card wrappers; dustjacket; [12],13-324pp. Tiny bump and attendant tear at crown, faint crease to lower left corner of rear wrapper, affecting the last 50 pages, else clean throughout; Near Fine, with a pair of complimentary slips from CVBC Services Ltd. laid in. In an attractive example of the trial dustjacket designed by Ian Hands, which prints "PROOF ONLY - Provisional Publication Date June 13 1986" on rear flap, and photographic portrait of Atwood and a blurb from The Times on verso; unclipped (priced £8.95), with light wear and a few faint creases to extremities, a few faint foxed spots to lower front panel, and a corresponding tear and some associated wrinkling at crown; Very Good+.
Synopsis
The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood in 1985. It depicts a totalitarian world known as Gilead, portraying the subjection of women in a patriarchal society. The near-future New England setting illustrates a bleak portrayal of the world after the United States is overthrown by a fundamentalist group. Society is reorganized by the regime using a peculiar interpretation of some Old Testament ideas, and a new militarized, hierarchical model of social and religious fanaticism among its newly created social classes. The novel follows the story of a young woman, Offred, who struggles to maintain her identity. It depicts the rebellion of the women in her social class as their ability to read, write, own property, or handle money are lost. Most significantly, women are deprived of control over their own reproductive functions. The Handmaid's Tale was nominated for the first-ever Man Booker International Prize representing the best writers in contemporary fiction. Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 35 internationally acclaimed works of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. Her numerous awards include the Governor General’s Award for The Handmaid’s Tale , and The Giller Prize and Italian Premio Mondello for Alias Grace . The Handmaid’s Tale , Cat’s Eye , Alias Grace , and Oryx and Crake were all shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, which she won with The Blind Assassin . She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has been awarded the Norwegian Order of Literary Merit and the French Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres among many others; she is a Foreign Honorary Member for Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She lives in Toronto.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Captain Ahab's Rare Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 6364
- Title
- THE HANDMAID'S TALE - UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY IN TRIAL DUSTJACKET
- Author
- Atwood, Margaret
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First U.K. Edition
- Publisher
- Jonathan Cape
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1986
Terms of Sale
Captain Ahab's Rare Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Captain Ahab's Rare Books
Biblio member since 2010
Stephenson, Virginia
About Captain Ahab's Rare Books
Founded in 2010, Captain Ahab's Rare Books specializes in first editions of literature, genre fiction, film-related books and ephemera, zines, manuscript and archival material.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- Foxed
- Foxing is the age related browning, or brown-yellowish spots, that can occur to book paper over time. When this aging process...
- Blurb
- The blurb refers to the commentary that appears on the dust jacket flaps or the rear of the dustjacket. In the case of a...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
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