“IN THE FRONT RANK OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN WRITERS OF FICTION”: SCARCE FIRST EDITION OF CRANE’S THIRD VIOLET
CRANE, Stephen. The Third Violet. New York: D. Appleton, 1897. Octavo, original black-, red- and gilt-stamped tan cloth, uncut.
First edition of Crane’s skillful parody of the romance novel—praised by Ford Madox Ford as “his favorite of Crane’s books”—a work of “much humor… originality and force" (New York Times), scarce in original cloth.
On publication, Crane's parody of the romance novel, The Third Violet, earned praise as a work that "kept Crane 'in the front rank of English and American writers of fiction… Ford Madox Ford called it his favorite of Crane's books and Christopher Benfey has more recently ranked it 'among Crane's unfairly forgotten works" (Sorrentino, American Literature:70, 265). To The New York Times, "the high quality of Crane's literary work has been universally conceded. The Third Violet is a departure from scenes of camp and strife, and is a study of artistic life, the theme carried out with not alone originality and force, but with much humor." As issued without dust jacket. BAL 4078. Bruccoli & Clark, 80.
Text generally fresh, light soiling, edge-wear, minor spotting to original cloth. An extremely good copy.