Between the Covers

Softcover. Carbon typescript. Quarto. 75pp., but lacking the final two pages. Sheets bradbound in the blue "Liebling-Wood" folder of Williams' agent, Audrey Wood. The light blue wrappers a bit worn with a couple of tears and the original brads replaced, very good plus. Labeled "Third draft, Europe, September, 1950" on the first sheet along with a pencil notation that reads, "not final draft." This copy also includes the epigraph from the poem "Anabasis" on the first sheet that was used intermittently by Williams throughout his many drafts.

*The Rose Tattoo* is Williams' first full-length comedy which he called his "love-play to the world." It concerns a Sicilian widow from the Gulf Coast and her attempts to protect her attractive young daughter while dealing with her own renewed passions. This draft was completed after learning that Elia Kazan had passed on directing the play to do a film with Arthur Miller, a snub that greatly disheartened Williams. Nevertheless, the play, which debuted on Broadway in early 1951, won Tony Awards for best play as well as best actor and best actress awards for Eli Wallach and Maureen Stapleton. A 1955 film version was also a success, starring Burt Lancaster and Anna Magnani, who won the Oscar for best actress.

Item #344598