THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM, OF NANTUCKET, NORTH AMERICA: COMPRISING THE DETAILS OF A MUTINY, FAMINE, AND SHIPWRECK, DURING A VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEAS; RESULTING IN VARIOUS EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES AND DISCOVERIES IN THE EIGHTY-FOURTH PARALLEL OF SOUTHERN LATITUDE. London: Wiley and Putnam, 67, Paternoster Row; Whitaker and Co.: And Charles Tilt, 1838. 12mo, pp. [1-4] [i] ii-iv [9] 10-252, modern black morocco, spine panel richly tooled in gold, untrimmed. First British edition. Poe's first prose book and his only book-length work of fiction, one of the nineteenth century's most fantastic short novels. "A novel of horrendous sea adventure, followed by extraordinary experiences in the Antarctic ... Critically, Pym has generally been held in low esteem, but this is probably because of the full-blown sensation approach of the first part of the novel, which retails more horrors in one short voyage than would have taken place in a sailor's lifetime or more. But considered within the aesthetics of BLACKWOOD'S, it is a fine achievement. As for the second, puzzle section, it remains successfully puzzling after a century and a half." - Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 1784. "Clearly, THE NARRATIVE OF ARTHUR GORDON PYM has exerted a powerful influence on its readers, and its entrancing ending in particular has aroused considerable interest. The novel has become a frequent subject for scholarly debate and a rich source for numerous literary and artistic endeavors, and in the last twenty-five years, it has come to be recognized as a masterpiece." - Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature III, pp. 1092-95. This British edition, which is far scarcer than its American counterpart published four months earlier, has textual differences; the final paragraph of the climax found in the American edition is entirely omitted, Pym's death is moved up by one day, and a publisher's note has been appended to the "preface" explaining that "the narrative consequently breaks off abruptly in its most important part." Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 1-41; (1981) 1-138; (1987) 1-74; (1995) 1-74: and (2004) II-857. Bailey, Pilgrims Through Space and Time, pp. 43-4. Barron (ed), Horror Literature 2-76. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1313. Bleiler (ed), Science Fiction Writers, pp. 15-7. Survey of Science Fiction Literature III, pp. 1480-87. Tymn (ed), Horror Literature 2-78. Bleiler (1978), p. 159. Reginald 11610. BAL 16201. See Wright (I) 2052. Heartman and Canny, pp. 39-40. Mild scuffing and scratching to leather, internally clean, a very good copy. (#174270).
Price: $2,250.00
No statement of printing.