The Hour Before the Dawn

Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1942.

Price: $125.00

Hardcover. First edition, no equivalent edition was published in England. Owner's decorative bookplate on front pastedown, minimal foxing on page edges, black cloth modestly soiled, spine cocked with ends rubbed, still a very good copy in a good only edgeworn and torn dustwrapper with internal tape repair. A novel written at the request of the British Ministry of Information intended to show the effect of the war on a British family. Maugham was reportedly dissatisfied with it and made every effort to suppress future publication. Made into a film featuring Veronica Lake and Franchet Tone. *Stott 47.*.

Item #425735

Add to Cart Ask a Question

item image

Item #425735 The Hour Before the Dawn. W. Somerset MAUGHAM.

W. Somerset Maugham
birth name: William Somerset Maugham
born: 1/25/1874
died: 12/16/1965
nationality: Great Britain

View Reference Info

Biography

English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer whose work is characterized by a clear, unadorned style, cosmopolitan settings, and a shrewd understanding of human nature. - Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literaturemore

Collecting tips:

Maugham was especially prolific. Among our favorites are The Razor's Edge (1944), the American edition preceding the U.K. edition, issued in the U.S. in both a limited and trade edition (the limited had an unprinted glassine jacket - usually missing - and a slipcase, the trade a jacket), The Moon and Sixpence (1919 - the jacket is very scarce), and his first book, Liza of Lambeth (1897 - reportedly issued with a jacket, we've never seen one but suspect that indeed it was). We are intrigued by his many plays, although it can take considerable effort to figure out the various editions and states, even with the good Stott bibliography.

Email us to request a printed copy of our catalog of W. Somerset Maugham Rare Books and First Editions (or download it via the link as a 3.13 MB pdf file).more