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Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
by Joseph Conrad
- Used
- good
- first
- Condition
- Good
- Seller
-
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Harper & Brothers, 1904. Good. London: Harper & Brothers, 1904. First Edition, First State with p. 187 misprinted 871. Thick octavo; publisher's blue cloth, upper cover lettered in pale blue, gilt-lettered spine; [8],480pp. Cloth significantly worn along extremities with rather messy exposure at spine ends and bottom margin of rear cover, textblock a bit toned and shaken in binding; a Good, internally clean and sound copy, difficult to find in any kind of presentable condition.
WISE 15.
WISE 15.
Synopsis
Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is often regarded as author’s most ambitious work. The novel is set in the mining town of Sulaco, a port in the fictitious South American republic of Costaguana. The region has history of tyranny, revolution, and war, but more recently, the area has enjoyed newfound stability. Charles "don Carlos" Gould aims to promote this time of peace and prosperity by reopening his family’s silver mine in order to contribute to the local economy and, of course, personally profit. But as the political climate intensifies once again, Gould finds that he must pay off various armed revolutionaries in addition to government officials, bandits, and the church in order to stay in business. In this political commentary on imperialism, no character wins; all are dealt ironic fates. Originally published serially in two volumes of T.P.'s Weekly, Nostromo is ranked 47th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. In 1991, a film adaptation of Nostromo, starring Marlon Brando, among others, was to be produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by David Lean, but Lean died a few weeks before filming began. In 1996, a television adaptation of the novel was produced and aired on the BBC, Radiotelevisione Italiana, Televisión Española, and WGBH Boston. Nostromo has often been referenced in other works. Much of the story in Andrew M. Greeley's Virgin and Martyr (1985) is set in the fictional country of Costaguana — and many of the other place names in the work are borrowed from Nostromo as well. Perhaps more familiar: In Ridley Scott's 1979 science-fiction horror film, Alien, the spacecraft is named the Nostromo and in James Cameron's 1986 sequel, Aliens, the Marine transport vessel is named Sulaco.
Read More: Identifying first editions of Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
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Details
- Bookseller
- Capitol Hill Books, ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 28883
- Title
- Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard
- Author
- Joseph Conrad
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Harper & Brothers
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1904
Terms of Sale
Capitol Hill Books, ABAA
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
Capitol Hill Books, ABAA
Biblio member since 2019
Washington, District of Columbia
About Capitol Hill Books, ABAA
Capitol Hill Books is a used bookstore in the Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, DC. We have three floors of quality used books, first editions, and rare books.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- First State
- used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...
- Shaken
- A hardcover in which the text block is loose, but still attached to the binding.
- 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....
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