The Razor s Edge - A Novel -
William Somerset Maugham
1944 - William Heinemann Ltd, London - First English Edition
A fine first edition of one of Maugham's most popular works, twice adapted for the big screen, the first of which was Oscar-winning starring Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney and John Payne.
‘The Razor’s Edge’ follows the life of Larry Darrell, a pilot in World War I who longs to discover some transcendent meaning for human life, and for his life in particular.
Maugham himself appears in the novel, and there is some debate as to whether Darrell is a thinly disguised portrait of Christopher Isherwood. The theme of The Razor’s Edge came from an unproduced and unpublished play of Maugham’s The Road Uphill.
Published by Heinemann, London on 17th July 1944, the first American edition was published a little earlier on the 20th of April.
Reference: Stott, A Bibliography of the Works of W. Somerset Maugham, A63c.
Octavo (book size 19x13cm), pp. [6] 284. In publisher’s Persian light blue linen-grain cloth (one of two variant cloth colours, the other being dark blue), lettered in gilt to spine and front, author’s symbol blocked in gilt to front board, publisher’s windmill device blocked in blind to rear board, hay endpapers. Dust jacket priced ‘12s.6d. NET’ to lower corner of front flap. Condition: Fine, in the delicate near fine dust jacket, lightly toned (far less than usually encountered), minor wear to corners and slight wrinkling to head of spine. Ref: 112192 Price: HK$ 8,000
‘The Razor’s Edge’ follows the life of Larry Darrell, a pilot in World War I who longs to discover some transcendent meaning for human life, and for his life in particular.
Maugham himself appears in the novel, and there is some debate as to whether Darrell is a thinly disguised portrait of Christopher Isherwood. The theme of The Razor’s Edge came from an unproduced and unpublished play of Maugham’s The Road Uphill.
Published by Heinemann, London on 17th July 1944, the first American edition was published a little earlier on the 20th of April.
Reference: Stott, A Bibliography of the Works of W. Somerset Maugham, A63c.
Octavo (book size 19x13cm), pp. [6] 284. In publisher’s Persian light blue linen-grain cloth (one of two variant cloth colours, the other being dark blue), lettered in gilt to spine and front, author’s symbol blocked in gilt to front board, publisher’s windmill device blocked in blind to rear board, hay endpapers. Dust jacket priced ‘12s.6d. NET’ to lower corner of front flap. Condition: Fine, in the delicate near fine dust jacket, lightly toned (far less than usually encountered), minor wear to corners and slight wrinkling to head of spine. Ref: 112192 Price: HK$ 8,000