The Camberwell Beauty

V. S. Pritchett - HEIRLOOM STANDARD NEW EDITION

Published by Folio Press London, 2011

About this Item

PERFECT, unread, still sealed, this is an heirloom production by a superb small press of a masterpiece that deserves a place on every readers shelf. Selected and introduced by William Trevor. Illustrated by Clifford Harper. Bound in cloth. Printed and blocked with a design by Clifford Harper. Set in Goudy. Frontispiece and 10 colour illustrations.He is a writer who delineates a unique world, and the vivid genius of his voice, encompassing so many other voices seedy, lush, excitable takes only a line or two to make itself felt SPECTATOR People are always in a state of regret said V. S. Pritchett, and indeed, an air of melancholy, of wasted purpose and missed opportunities hangs like an English mist over many of his stories. In A Trip to the Seaside, a retired, widowed salesman visits his old secretary hoping to rekindle a romance, only to uncover uncomfortable truths about both the present and a past he has suppressed. In Tea with Mrs Bittell, an older, well-to-do woman condescends to invite a younger man outside her own class to tea, spurred by their apparent mutual disappointments in life. Pritchett skilfully evokes the tiny acts of courage, betrayal and deception that make up the petty tragedies of ordinary life. In his dense, many-layered tales, whole vistas exist just beyond the storys confines; characters and plot linger in the mind long after the final page is turned. Hilda in When My Girl Comes Home is feared dead in a Japanese POW camp. Only her mother keeps faith, and slaves to save money for her lost daughter. Hilda returns at last, well-groomed and sleek, talking of the man who will write a book of her life. Is she a fantasist? A whore, as other women whisper? Or a loving daughter desperate for a chance of freedom and happiness? In The Camberwell Beauty, the beautiful but damaged Isabel has married an elderly antiques dealer: He likes to look at me. I am the most precious thing he has. That isnt love, cries the narrator, but his own passion mirrors the antique dealers lust to possess anothers treasure. Pritchett inspired generations of short-story writers, and William Trevor is one of many to acknowledge a debt. Trevor has personally selected and introduced 25 stories for this collection, taken from every stage in Pritchetts luminous career. One of the greatest short story writers England has ever produced INDEPENDENT Language: eng Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng. Seller Inventory # ABE-6024664297

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Camberwell Beauty

Publisher: Folio Press London

Publication Date: 2011

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: New

Edition: Special Edition.