THE COLLECTED FICTION OF ALBERT CAMUS - Comprising "The Outsider", "The Plague", "The Fall" and "Exile and the Kingdom" (First UK edition - first printing)

Albert Camus

Published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1960

About this Item

First printing of the first UK edition, published in 1960. ***Very good in green and red duotone cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine. The gilt is still nice and bright, having been protected by the dustwrapper. The boards are clean and unmarked, without any scuffs or rubbing but with some creasing to the head and tail of the spine and lower edge of the back board. Corners sharp. There is also a stain affecting the top edge and fore-edge of the page block - but not affecting the interior pages (please see scans). No reading lean to the binding. Spine tight. Internally the book is also very good with an ownership name in ink on the front pastedown, and some bookseller marks in pencil at the top corner of the front free endpaper. There is also a small period bookseller's label at the bottom of the rear pastedown: 'John Orr's, Johannesburg'. No internal foxing. No creases or tears. Paper stock just lightly tanned. ***In a very good typographical dustwrapper, which has been triangular price-clipped (please see scans)'. The dustwrapper is complete with no chips, but there is a closed tear along the edge of the spine and front panel and some rubbing and creasing to the edges, mainly at the top and tail of the spine and corner tips. The back panel is marked with a small stain. The spine is slightly browned, and the yellow titles have faded to white. ***216mm x142mm. 400 pages. ***'Albert Camus (7 Nov 1913 - 4 Jan 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His works include "The Stranger" (Outsider), "The Plague", "The Myth of Sisyphus", "The Fall" and "The Rebel". Camus was a moralist and leaned towards anarcho-syndicalism. He was part of many organisations seeking European integration. During the Algerian War (1954-1962), he kept a neutral stance, advocating a multicultural and pluralistic Algeria, a position that was rejected by most parties. Philosophically, Camus' views contributed to the rise of the philosophy known as absurdism. Some consider Camus' work to show him to be an existentialist, even though he himself firmly rejected the term throughout his lifetime. (Wiki) ***'Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. This award recognized his unique work also as a philosopher, but particularly as a creative writer: "his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of the human conscience in our times", as the official citation put it. Camus's distinction as a writer rests mainly on his four books of fiction: two novels (The Outsider and The Plague), one monologue (The Fall) and a collection of short stories (Exile and the Kingdom). All these are now reprinted together in this volume. (Quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper) ***A very good copy of the first printing of the first UK edition of Albert Camus' "Collected Fiction", in the original correct dustwrapper (with no mention of impressions). ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # 9311

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE COLLECTED FICTION OF ALBERT CAMUS - Comprising "The Outsider", "The Plague", "The Fall" and "Exile and the Kingdom" (First UK edition - first printing)
• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, London
• Publication Date: 1960
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First UK Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • First Editions
  • Literature in Translation