{"product_id":"in-the-heart-of-the-country-j-m-coetzee-1st-edition","title":"In the Heart of the Country, J.M. Coetzee — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublication:\u003c\/b\u003e London, Secker \u0026amp; Warburg, 1977\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormatting:\u003c\/b\u003e 8vo, pp. 139.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Report:\u003c\/b\u003e Good. This ex-library copy remains structurally intact and readable, though it bears the expected hallmarks of its institutional provenance. The publisher's original cloth binding is firm, presenting a slight reading lean and moderate rubbing to the extremities. Internally, the pages are generally clean, though punctuated by standard library stamps, most notably on the copyright page, a ghosting stamp on the title page, and bold stamping along the text block edges. The endpapers exhibit significant sellotape residue and glue staining from previous jacket protector attachments. The original dust jacket remains bright and complete, but displays light shelf-wear and corresponding tape marks on the reverse from its time in circulation. Despite these flaws, the binding remains sound, making it a perfectly serviceable reading copy of a scarce first printing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCatalogue Note:\u003c\/b\u003e This is a true First UK Edition of J.M. Coetzee's acclaimed second novel, confirmed by the Secker \u0026amp; Warburg imprint and the 1977 publication date on the copyright page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe provenance of this volume is distinctly institutional, bearing the stamps of the Hillingdon Borough Libraries (Eastcote branch), which verifies its circulation history. While ex-library copies are inherently compromised in their condition, early editions of Coetzee's foundational works remain uncommonly seen on the open market, particularly those that retain their original, unclipped dust jackets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet against the isolated, unforgiving landscape of colonial South Africa, \u003ci\u003eIn the Heart of the Country\u003c\/i\u003e is a searing exploration of isolation, madness, and the collapse of the feudal order. The narrative follows Magda, an embittered spinster who tends to her aging sheep-farmer father, as her fragile reality begins to fracture following his scandalous affair with a Black concubine. Driven by jealousy and a desperate need for connection, Magda descends into a hallucinatory state where the lines between violence, fantasy, and truth blur irreparably. Coetzee’s second novel is a masterful, intensely psychological portrait of alienation and the corrosive legacy of racial and familial oppression.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54577410965843,"sku":"5073","price":42.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260811_104254.jpg?v=1786621345","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/in-the-heart-of-the-country-j-m-coetzee-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}