Native Son [FIRST PRINTING]
by Wright, Richard
- Used
- Very Good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/No Jacket
- Seller
-
San Francisco, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1940. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. Very good. No dust jacket. Stated 1st edition, no numberline with A-P designation (1st printing). Second state binding, with blue/grey boards and black-and-gold title and author's name. No dust jacket. xxxiv, 392 p.; 22 cm. The black-and-gold printing on the spine is flaking. Head and base of spine are wrinkled. Corners are mildly bumped. It appears that a page may been removed between the first chapter title page and the first page of text. Classic novel by the late author of 'Black Boy' and 'The Outsider'. Where possible, all books come with dust jacket in a protective mylar sleeve, sealed in a ziplock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, shipped in a box.
Synopsis
Richard Wright’s Native Son tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black American youth living in utter poverty in Chicago's South Side during the 1930s. When Bigger unintentionally murders a white woman, he is put on trial and eventually convicted, and sentenced to the electric chair. Often recognized as a protest novel, Native Son stresses systemic racial issues, prompting the reader to feel both sympathy and empathy for Bigger. In this, the novel is one of the earliest successful attempts to explain the racial divide in America in terms of the conditions imposed on African-Americans by the dominant white society. Soon after publication, Native Son was selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African-American author. Indeed, the novel was an immediate best seller, selling 250,000 hardcover copies within three weeks of its publication. As a result of the novel’s success, Wright became the first bestselling and the wealthiest black writer of his time, establishing him as a spokesperson for African-American issues and, to many, the “father of Black American literature.” In 1941, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awarded Wright awarded the prestigious Spingarn Medal. Unsurprisingly, Native Son was challenged in many public schools and libraries and is listed in the American Library Association's list of the “Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999.” Yet most institutions in which the novel was challenged successfully fought to keep Wright's work accessible, particularly in the classroom, defending it as a guide into the reality of the complex adult and social world. Native son is listed as 20th on the Modern Library’s list of the “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also included in TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).
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Details
- Bookseller
- MostlySignedBooks
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1856
- Title
- Native Son [FIRST PRINTING]
- Author
- Wright, Richard
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition 1st Printing
- Publisher
- Harper & Brothers
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1940
- Pages
- 359
Terms of Sale
MostlySignedBooks
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
MostlySignedBooks
Biblio member since 2011
San Francisco, California
About MostlySignedBooks
I am a long-time book collector who goes to book signings, book sales, and book stores. I keep my books in a smoke-free environment and treat them with respect. I only sell books because I run out of storage space. If you ever have any questions or concerns about anything please feel free to e-mail me. I guarantee all purchases and want all buyers to feel confident in ordering online. Where possible, books are shipped in protective mylar sleeves, in bubble wrap, in cardboard boxes.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Second State
- used in book collecting to refer to a first edition, but after some change has been made in the printing, such as a correction,...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
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