“THE PEAK OF FAULKNER’S FICTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT”: FIRST EDITION OF ABSALOM, ABSALOM!, WITH FAULKNER'S SIGNATURE LAID IN

FAULKNER, William. Absalom, Absalom! New York: Random House, 1936. Octavo, original black cloth, original dust jacket; house in a custom clamshell box. $9500.

First trade edition of “the greatest American novel since the turn of the century,” with Faulkner's signature laid in.

"Absalom is the peak of Faulkner's fictional achievement. It is unquestionably the greatest American novel since the turn of the century… Its sole competitors among contemporary American novels are Dreiser's American Tragedy and Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, neither of which approaches Faulkner's innovative daring" (Karl, 582). "As Faulkner reached the apex of his talent, the greatest moment of his creative career, he seemed fully conscious of where he was and what he was doing… As he later commented, there is a period when a writer's craftmanship (a matter of age) and energy (a matter of imagination) come together, and then the writer moves beyond or outside of himself… With the publication of Absalom on October 26, 1936—in one of the worst years of the depression—Faulkner found himself on his own Everest. Although he was still capable of compelling work, he would never again reach so high or so far" (Karl, 559-60). "Absalom, Absalom! remains at the center of Faulkner's achievement, a strangely magnificent and unforgettable work" (Parini, 203). With black and red folding map of Faulkner's fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Published simultaneously with the signed limited edition. Petersen A18.2b. Hamblin & Brodsky 187. Laid into this copy is part of the limitation leaf (number 628 out of 975 copies) from the signed limited edition of Faulkner's story Notes on a Horsethief, with Faulkner's signature.

Book fine, dust jacket near-fine with spine with mild toning, shallow chipping to ends, slight rubbing to folds. An exceptional copy in unusually nice condition.