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A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES. ***A near fine copy in mauve-blue boards with gilt titles to the spine. No inscriptions. ***In a near fine, bright dustwrapper. No tears. Not price-clipped, showing the original publisher's price of £2.95. Slightly creased at the head of the spine. ***With the following printed on the inside back flap - "PROVISIONAL PUBLICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 5th", denoting a proof copy. The book itself is hardcover and appears to be a publication copy. ***'Singer began his writing career as a journalist in Warsaw in the years between the wars. He was influenced by his elder brother, now dead, who was already an author and who contributed to the younger brother's spiritual liberation and contact with the new currents of seething political, social and cultural upheaval. ***The clash between tradition and renewal, between other-worldliness and faith and mysticism on the one hand, and free thought, secularization, doubt and nihilism on the other, is an essential theme in Singer's short stories and novels. The theme is Jewish, made topical by the barbarous conflicts of our age, a painful drama between contentious loyalties. But it is also of concern to mankind, to us all, Jew or non-Jew, actualized by modern western culture's struggles between preservation and renewal. ***Among many other themes, it is dealt with in Singer's big family chronicles - the novels, The Family Moskat (1950), The Manor (1967), and The Estate (1969). These extensive epic works have been compared with Thomas Mann's novel, Buddenbrooks. Like Mann, Singer describes how old families are broken up by the new age and its demands, from the middle of the 19th century up to the Second World War, and how they are split, financially, socially and humanly. But Singer's chronicles are greater in scope than Mann's novel and more richly orchestrated in their characterization. The author's apparently inexhaustible psychological fantasy has created a microcosm, or rather, a well-populated microchaos, out of independent and graphically convincing figures. They bring to mind another writer whom Singer read when young - Leo Tolstoy. " [Taken from the Nobel Prize website - Singer won the Nobel Prize in 1978]. ***A near fine copy of a very uncommon first edition, more so in this proof wrapper. ***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 # 51030
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Bibliographic Details
Title: A CROWN OF FEATHERS [PROOF DUSTWRAPPER]
Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London
Publication Date: 1974
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Near Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
Edition: First UK Edition
