{"product_id":"the-life-of-charles-dickens-thomas-wright-1st-edition","title":"The Life of Charles Dickens, Thomas Wright — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003ePublication\u003c\/b\u003e: London, Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1935.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eFormatting\u003c\/b\u003e: 8vo, pp. 392.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/b\u003e: Good. The original blue cloth binding remains fundamentally sound but exhibits the general handling and shelf-wear expected of an interwar volume. The spine is slightly sunned with light rubbing and minor fraying at the head and tail, while the boards show faint scuffing, mildly bumped corners, and a small, dark blemish to the lower front panel. The blind-stamped publisher's emblem on the rear board remains crisp. The text block is reasonably square, though the external page edges are noticeably toned and peppered with foxing. Internally, the pages are generally clean and legible, with scattered foxing predominantly affecting the preliminary and final leaves. The front free endpaper bears a neat, contemporary previous ownership signature in blue ink dated May 1939. Overall, a solid, completely readable copy of this important biographical work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/b\u003e: This is a first edition, first printing of Thomas Wright's pivotal biography, complete with its original photographic plates and illustrations. The book holds particular significance in the history of Dickensian scholarship, as it was the very first major biography to publicly reveal the author's carefully concealed affair with the young actress Ellen Lawless Ternan, an assertion that rocked the literary establishment of the 1930s. The front free endpaper bears the factual ownership signature of G. E. J. Granville Garley, dated shortly after publication.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003eWhile copies of this biography occasionally appear on the open market, first editions retaining their original un-restored cloth bindings, and free from severe structural faults, are becoming increasingly uncommon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eIn 1935, Thomas Wright forever altered the landscape of literary history with the publication of \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"104\"\u003eThe Life of Charles Dickens\u003c\/i\u003e. Until its release, the accepted narrative of the beloved Victorian author’s personal life had been carefully curated and sanitised by his family and early biographers. Wright’s groundbreaking work shattered this veneer by revealing Dickens's complex and ultimately devastating affair with the actress Ellen Lawless Ternan, an open secret that fundamentally shifted the world's understanding of the novelist's later years. Filled with intimate details and extensive contemporary research, this biography remains a vital, foundational text for anyone seeking the truth behind the public persona of Britain's most celebrated storyteller.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55087661351251,"sku":"5670","price":42.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260923_110548.jpg?v=1790591913","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/the-life-of-charles-dickens-thomas-wright-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}