{"product_id":"james-joyce-and-the-plain-reader-charles-duff-1st-edition","title":"James Joyce and the Plain Reader, Charles Duff — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication\u003c\/strong\u003e: London, Desmond Harmsworth, 1932.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormatting\u003c\/strong\u003e: 8vo, pp. 75.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/strong\u003e: Very Good. The original green cloth binding remains firm and remarkably clean, with only minor age-related fading to the extremities and slight rubbing at the spine tips. The yellow lettering on the spine is still notably crisp and unoxidised. Internally, the text block is sound, with some expected but uniform age-toning to the uncut page edges. The hinges are tight, and the leaves are free from foxing or significant blemishes, retaining a pleasing crispness that suggests the volume has seen minimal handling over the past nine decades. A highly presentable and structurally sound copy of a delicate pre-war production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/strong\u003e: First Edition. A significant and early attempt to demystify the formidable modernist oeuvre of James Joyce for the general public, demonstrating the period's immediate critical reaction to his work. Featuring a prefatory letter by Herbert Read, this essay primarily tackles \u003ci\u003eUlysses\u003c\/i\u003e and early segments of \u003ci\u003eWork in Progress\u003c\/i\u003e (later published as \u003ci\u003eFinnegans Wake\u003c\/i\u003e), offering an accessible guide to Joyce's complex themes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis copy is bound in the publisher's original green cloth over boards. Locating surviving copies of this slender publication in such clean, unhandled condition, without significant structural wear, heavy sunning, or institutional stamping, is becoming increasingly uncommon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished at the height of modernist literary experimentation, Charles Duff’s \u003ci\u003eJames Joyce and the Plain Reader\u003c\/i\u003e serves as a contemporary bridge between Joyce’s towering intellect and the everyday literature enthusiast. Equipped with a prefatory letter by the esteemed critic Herbert Read, this 1932 essay offers a witty, practical, and highly accessible exploration of Joyce's most complex texts. A charming and historically insightful guide, it captures the initial waves of public and critical reception surrounding works like \u003ci\u003eUlysses\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFinnegans Wake\u003c\/i\u003e, making it an essential addition for collectors of modernist literary criticism.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54494342316371,"sku":"4902","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260730_225257.jpg?v=1785928321","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/james-joyce-and-the-plain-reader-charles-duff-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}