The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Ten years after Steerforth launched the Dawn Powell revival, her five best-selling novels are being reissued in newly designed Zoland Books editions with Reading Group Guides inside.Late in life, out of luck and fashion, Henry James predicted a day when all of his neglected novels would kick off their headstones, one after another. As the twentieth century came to an end, the works of Dawn Powell managed the same magnificent task.When Powell died in 1965, virtually all her books were out of print. Not a single historical survey of American literature mentioned her, even in passing. And so she slept, seemingly destined to be forgotten – or, to put it more exactly, never to be remembered. How things have changed! Twelve of Powell’s novels have now been reissued, along with editions of her plays, diaries, letters, and short stories. She has joined the Library of America, admitted to the illustrious company of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Adams, Frederick Douglass, and Edith Wharton. She is taught in college and read with delight on vacation. For the contemporary poet and novelist Lisa Zeidner, writing in The New York Times Book Review, Powell “is wittier than Dorothy Parker, dissects the rich better than F. Scott Fitzgerald, is more plaintive than Willa Cather in her evocation of the heartland, and has a more supple control of satirical voice than Evelyn Waugh.” For his part, Gore Vidal offered a simple reason for Powell’s sudden popularity: “We are catching up to her.”Tim Page, Powell’s biographer, from his new foreword to My Home Is Far Away, Dawn Powell was born in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, on November 28, 1896, the second of three daughters. Her father was a traveling salesman, and her mother died a few days after Dawn turned seven. After enduring great cruelty at the hands of her stepmother, Dawn ran away at the age of thirteen and eventually arrived at the home of her maternal aunt, who served hot meals to travelers emerging from the train station across the street. Dawn worked her way through college and made it to New York. There she married a young advertising executive and had one child, a boy who suffered from autism, then an unknown condition.Powell referred to herself as a “permanent visitor” in her adopted Manhattan and brought to her writing a perspective gained from her upbringing in Middle America. She knew many of the great writers of her time, and Diana Trilling famously said it was Dawn “who really says the funny things for which Dorothy Parker gets credit.” Ernest Hemingway called her his “favorite living writer.” She was one of America’s great novelists, and yet when she died in 1965 she was buried in an unmarked grave in New York’s Potter’s Field. Her books live, and with these newly designed editions, with their reading group guides inside, more people than ever before will be able to hear Dawn’s distinctive voice.

Reviews

Review this book!

Available Copies

The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$228.15

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First edition. Octavo. Extremities are lightly rubbed, last few leaves of text are roughly opened, else a very good copy in very good dust jacket with a one-inch chip at crown, few nicks at tips of corners, moderate wear and few short creased tears to extremities.
Item Price
A$228.15
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$68.44

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good. Reprint. Some sunning to the edges of the front board, corners slightly bumped, two pages roughly opened resulting in small chips on the margins, a very good copy without dustwrapper. A sound copy.
Item Price
A$68.44
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$760.50

Show Details

Description:
London: W.H. Allen, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First English edition. Slight soiling to one page corner, boards a bit splayed, modest foxing to the endpapers, a very good copy in a near very good dustwrapper with some soiling, and tiny nicks and tears. Powell's acerbic and witty novels are periodically rediscovered, as they seem recently to have… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$760.50
The Locusts Have No King
More Photos

The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Edition
First Edition
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Woodstock, Illinois, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$311.80

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Very Good in a Very Good jacket, unclipped ($3.00), faded, bumped at the edges and corners. Green buckram, toned at the bottom edge, bumped at the corners. Firmly bound with a slight forward lean, writing in marker inside the front board and on the front endpaper,… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$311.80
The Locusts Have No King
More Photos

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$5,703.75

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First edition. Spine ends a little toned, very good or better in spine-sunned very good or better dust jacket with some small nicks and tears. This copy Inscribed by Dawn Powell to Ann Honeycutt in a fake-drunk (or maybe real-drunk) manner: "To Ann Whatsername from Dan Pol (her… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$5,703.75
The Locusts Have No King
More Photos

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$11,407.50

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First edition. Corners a little bumped, light wear on the boards, very good or better in a nice very good dust jacket with some sunning at the spine and tiny holes on the rear flap fold. This copy Inscribed by Dawn Powell to Gladys and important critic Van… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$11,407.50
No image available

The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good+
Edition
First Edition
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN
9780265423318
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Los Angeles, California, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 3 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$57.04

Show Details

Description:
1948 Edition: Charles Scribner's Son. Very Good+. 1948. First Edition. Hardcover. 0265423317 . Hardcover, no dustjacket. No edition stated. Green boards with white title band, sharp; few small stains and age toning to edges, shelf wear to spine ends, age toning to spine. Book is firm in binding, clean interior, front board… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$57.04
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$190.12

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition. Light sunning and offsetting at the extremities, very good without dustwrapper.
Item Price
A$190.12
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$76.05

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good. Reprint. Bottom corners bumped, thus very good without dustwrapper. A nice reading copy.
Item Price
A$76.05
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Fine
Jacket Condition
Near Fine
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$532.35

Show Details

Description:
London: W.H. Allen, 1948. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. First English edition. Small neat owner name front fly, else fine in very good or better dust jacket with some shallow chipping at the crown. Powell was a prolific and well-regarded author, but mostly forgotten until a well-deserved revival was prompted by a 1987 reassessment by Gore Vidal in *The New… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$532.35
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$456.30

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. First edition. Owner name front pastedown, small sticker shadow on front fly, light wear on board but overall near fine in very good spine-sunned very good or better dust jacket with some small nicks and tears, and a split at the bottom front flap fold. An attractive copy… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$456.30
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$205.33

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition. Small bookstore stamp front fly, light sunning at the top of the front board, very good or better without dustwrapper.
Item Price
A$205.33
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$152.10

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Hardcover. Very Good. First edition. Sunning and offsetting at the extremities, else very good without dustwrapper.
Item Price
A$152.10
No image available

The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Jacket Condition
Good
Edition
First Edition
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
New York, New York, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$152.10

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good. Original cloth, lightly worn, in pictorial DJ (faded along spine and edges, with several short tears, tape shadows to inner corners, and some staining to verso at top). Displays decently in mylar.
Item Price
A$152.10
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1990
Binding
Softcover
ISBN
9781878274007
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$76.05

Show Details

Description:
New York: Yarrow Press, 1990. Softcover. Very Good. First edition thus. Trade paperback. Introduction by John Guare. Front wrap with a shallow creased tear at bottom edge, spine and part of rear wrap slightly sunned, very good. Considered one of Powell's best New York novels, a satirical tale of gold-digging, lost love and literary rivalry in Greenwich Village.… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$76.05
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by POWELL, Dawn

Condition
Used - Near Fine
Published
1995
Binding
Softcover
ISBN
9781883642426
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Gloucester City, New Jersey, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$60.84

Show Details

Description:
South Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Press, 1995. Softcover. Near Fine. First edition thus. Trade paperback. Edges with a few faint spots, wrappers lightly rubbed, near fine. Considered one of Powell's best New York novels, a satirical tale of gold-digging, lost love and literary rivalry in Greenwich Village.
Item Price
A$60.84
No image available

The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
First Edition; First Printing
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 2 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$456.30

Show Details

Description:
E-384: Charles Scribner's Sons. Very Good. 1948. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Hardcover. 8vo. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 1948. 286 pgs. First Edition/First Printing. DJ has shelf-wear, rubbing present to the DJ especially around the extremities. Bound in green cloth boards with titles present to the spine and front board. Boards are lightly rubbed and worn.… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$456.30
The Locusts Have No King

The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Condition
Used - Good
Jacket Condition
No Dust Jacket
Edition
First Edition
Published
1948
Binding
Hardcover
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Skyway, Washington, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$91.26

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. 1st printing with publisher's "A" on copyright page. Ex-library copy, Soldier's Memorial Library in Hiram, Maine, with markings on title and copyright pages, and rear endpapers. Lacking dj. Full cloth binding, spine sunned and dulled. A decent, sturdy copy.. First Edition. Hardcover. Good/No Dust Jacket. 8vo - 8" -… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$91.26
No image available

The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Condition
Used - Very Good
Published
1990
Binding
Paperback
ISBN
9781878274007
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Tokyo, JPN
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 3 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$12.87

Show Details

Description:
Steerforth Pr, 1990. Paperback. Very Good. A copy that has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. In the literary circles of Powell's (1897-1965) post-WW II Manhattan, "art is a cigarette ad," money and insincerity go hand-in-hand, a friend is an opportunity to talk… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$12.87
The Locusts Have No King
More Photos

The Locusts Have No King

by Powell, Dawn

Condition
Used
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Arrowsic, Maine, USA
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$874.57

Show Details

Description:
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. 8vo, green cloth with title in black and white on front cover and title, author, and publisher in black and white on spine. [x], 286 pp. First edition, with an 'A' on the copyright page. Wryly inscribed by Powell on the flyleaf, with fond memories of shared carousing, to the artist Peggy Bacon:… Read more about this item
Item Price
A$874.57