Soldier's Pay

New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926. First edition. Near Fine/Very Good. A Near Fine copy of the book in Very Good only dust jacket. Book clean and fresh, with a small Nashville bookseller's label on the rear paste-down. Dust jacket only Very Good on account of some moderate chipping at the spine ends and corners, one inch tear near the crown repaired on the verso with tape. Flap folds starting to crack, reinforced on the verso with archival, binder's tape. Spine a bit toned. An uncommon book in dust jacket, one of just 2500 copies originally printed. Housed in a custom black quarter-leather slipcase with chemise.

"Soldier's Pay is William Faulkner's first published novel. It begins with a train journey on which two American soldiers, Joe Gilligan and Julian Lowe, are returning from the First World War. There they meet a scarred, lethargic, and withdrawn fighter pilot, Donald Mahon, who was presumed dead by his family. The novel continues to focus on Mahon and his slow deterioration, and the various romantic complications that arise upon his return home...Though the novel was a commercial failure at the time of its publication, Faulkner's subsequent fame has ensured its long-term success" (Standard Books). Over time, the themes of psychological damage and ideological disillusionment that were so uncomfortable to readers just emerging from the war came to be praised for their rawness and honesty. Near Fine in Very Good dust jacket.