{"product_id":"a-strange-solitude-philippe-sollers-1st-edition","title":"A Strange Solitude, Philippe Sollers — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003ePublication\u003c\/b\u003e: London, Eyre \u0026amp; Spottiswoode, 1961\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" data-path-to-node=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eFormatting\u003c\/b\u003e: 8vo, pp. 148.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/b\u003e: Near Fine. The book presents beautifully in its original black cloth binding, remaining tight, square, and free from structural lean, with bright, unoxidised silver gilt lettering to the spine. The text block is crisp, clean, and entirely free of foxing or iron oxide migration, while the hinges are perfectly secure with no starting. It is housed in its original, unclipped dust jacket (retaining the 15s net price to the front flap), which is remarkably well-preserved, exhibiting only trivial edge-wear and retaining excellent colour saturation without typical sunning. Crucially, the jacket retains its exceptionally fragile original wrap-around promotional band, which remains entirely intact and free from tears, elevating the physical evidence of this copy significantly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/b\u003e: First UK Edition of Philippe Sollers's celebrated debut novel, originally published in France as \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"113\"\u003eUne Curieuse Solitude\u003c\/i\u003e by Éditions du Seuil in 1958. Translated into English by Richard Howard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eThis copy is distinguished by the extraordinarily scarce presence of the original wrap-around band (obi), bearing laudatory quotes from the foremost French writers of the period, including François Mauriac, Émile Henriot, and Louis Aragon. Such fragile promotional ephemera was typically discarded upon purchase, making its survival in this condition a highly unusual and desirable attribute for collectors of mid-century translated literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003eA finely wrought, controversial, and poetic debut, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"58\"\u003eA Strange Solitude\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles a sixteen-year-old boy's initiation into love and physical passion through an affair with a Spanish nursemaid twice his age. Praised by the French literary establishment as the revelation of an outstanding new talent, Sollers’s semi-autobiographical novel captures the delicate, often agonizing transition from the awkward impatience of youth to the profound melancholy of maturity. Exploring a story of profound decency free from stale conventions, it stands as a testament to the evocative power of mid-century French literary expression.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55815533887827,"sku":"6911","price":60.7,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20261105_094500.jpg?v=1794309331","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/a-strange-solitude-philippe-sollers-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}