Lawrence Durrell First Editions

• Pied Piper of Lovers — 1935 · CassellFirst edition, Cassell, London, 1935. Durrell's first novel. It was published in the ordinary way but sold poorly; most of the stock was later destroyed during the Blitz, and Durrell declined to allow it to be reprinted, leaving very few surviving copies. A notable rarity. UK Cassell 1935 is the true first; there was no contemporary US edition. No book-club issue. Among the scarcest 20th-century firsts, owing to wartime loss of stock and Durrell's refusal to reprint rather than any suppression at publication.
• The Black Book — 1938 · The Obelisk PressFirst edition in printed wrappers, Obelisk Press, Paris, 1938, issued as the first volume in the Villa Seurat Series. The earliest copies were dispatched without the erratum slip that was later added to correct a pagination error, so a copy lacking that slip reflects the earliest state. Paris Obelisk Press wrappers (1938) are the true first. First US edition E. P. Dutton 1960; first UK edition Faber & Faber 1973 (Durrell having earlier declined an expurgated UK issue). Later expurgated and authorized editions differ in text. No book-club issue of the true first.
• A Private Country — 1943 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, Faber & Faber, London, 1943. A poetry collection and Durrell's first full collection from Faber, printed at the University Press, Glasgow. Issued in grey cloth with a printed dust jacket. UK Faber 1943 is the true first; no contemporary US edition. No book-club issue. Durrell regarded this as his poetic debut, though two small pamphlets preceded it.
• Prospero's Cell — 1945 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, Faber & Faber, London, 1945. Durrell's Corfu travel book, subtitled a guide to the landscape and manners of the island of Corcyra. Octavo of about 142 pages with seven plates; bound in yellow cloth lettered in gilt on a blue spine panel, with publisher's advertisements to the rear. Issued in a dust jacket designed by Roland Pym, now scarce (the jacket should carry its printed price). The UK Faber 1945 edition is the true first; the first US edition was published by E. P. Dutton in 1960. No book-club issue; the identifying features are the 1945 Faber imprint, the yellow cloth with blue-and-gilt spine, and the scarce Roland Pym jacket.
• Cefalû — 1947 · Editions Poetry LondonFirst edition, first printing, in original cloth with dust jacket. Issued under the title Cefalu, a title scarce in commerce; the novel was later reissued by Faber and Faber as The Dark Labyrinth. The original title is the collecting point. The UK Editions Poetry London printing as Cefalu is the true first. Durrell preferred the later title The Dark Labyrinth, under which the work was subsequently reissued by Faber. Retitled in later editions; no book-club issue under the original title.
• On Seeming to Presume — 1948 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first printing, published by Faber and Faber, London, in 1948. Issued in the publisher's red cloth boards with the supplied dust jacket. A collection of Durrell's poems. A first-issue jacket should retain its printed net price on the front flap (a price-clipped example is a condition matter, not a later state). Endpapers on this period Faber stock are commonly foxed. The UK Faber and Faber London 1948 printing is the true first edition; there was no separate earlier or American first. No book-club issue.
• Sappho — 1950 · Faber & FaberFaber and Faber, London, 1950. First edition, first printing of the verse play (full title 'Sappho: A Play in Verse'), in grey cloth with gilt spine lettering, octavo, 187 pages. Issued in the mauve pictorial dust jacket which carries the original printed price on the front flap (present rather than clipped). Recorded in the Durrell bibliography as Stone B.16.A. UK Faber and Faber, London, 1950 is the true first; the first American edition was published by E. P. Dutton in 1958. No book-club issue; identification rests on the Faber grey-cloth binding and the priced mauve first-issue jacket, distinguishing the 1950 Faber first from the later 1958 Dutton American edition.
• Reflections on a Marine Venus — 1953 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first printing, in green cloth with a pictorial dust jacket, with black-and-white photographic plates. Subtitled A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes; a travel companion to the earlier Prospero's Cell. A US Dutton edition followed later. UK Faber and Faber, London, 1953 is the true first. A first American edition was issued by Dutton. No book-club issue.
• Bitter Lemons — 1957 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first printing, of the Cyprus travel memoir describing Durrell's years on the island from 1953 to 1956, which won the Duff Cooper Prize for 1957 (only the second year the prize was awarded). Issued in publisher's red cloth with a gilt illustration and gilt lettering to the front board and a yellow spine label, 255 pages. The pictorial dust jacket should carry the original printed price to the front…. UK Faber and Faber, London, 1957 is the true first; the first American edition was published by E. P. Dutton in 1958 and follows it. No book-club issue.
• Esprit de Corps — 1957 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, Faber and Faber, London, 1957. Comic sketches of diplomatic life centered on the character Antrobus, with illustrations by V. H. Drummond in the UK edition. The UK Faber printing precedes the US E. P. Dutton edition. UK Faber 1957 is the true first; the US E. P. Dutton edition followed in 1958. The American edition adds illustrations not present in the 1957 UK first. No book-club edition of consequence.
• Justine — 1957 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first printing, of the opening volume of The Alexandria Quartet, in red cloth with gilt spine lettering and a pictorial dust jacket. The first-issue dust jacket is with its printed price and lacks the printer's hand device on the spine; later jackets are with its printed price The UK Faber 1957 edition precedes the US Dutton edition of 1957. UK Faber and Faber, London, 1957 is the true first and the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet; the US Dutton edition also appeared in 1957. Book-club printings appeared later and are not the first edition.
• White Eagles Over Serbia — 1957 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first impression, published by Faber and Faber, London, 1957. An adventure novel pitched at younger readers, featuring the agent Methuen. Reddish-brown cloth with the spine lettered in white; first-issue dust jacket unclipped. UK Faber 1957 is the true first edition. A US Criterion Books edition also appeared in 1957 and follows the British printing. No book-club edition of consequence.
• Balthazar — 1958 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first impression, Faber and Faber, London, 1958. Volume two of The Alexandria Quartet. Issued in cloth with a dust jacket with its printed price on the unclipped flap. The UK Faber printing precedes the US E. P. Dutton edition of the same year. UK Faber 1958 is the true first; the US E. P. Dutton edition also dated 1958 follows it. Book-club printings came later and are not the first edition.
• Mountolive — 1958 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first impression, Faber and Faber, London, 1958. Volume three of The Alexandria Quartet. Octavo in gilt-lettered cloth uniform with the other volumes, with an unclipped pictorial dust jacket. The UK Faber printing precedes the US E. P. Dutton edition of 1959. UK Faber 1958 is the true first; the US E. P. Dutton edition followed in 1959. Book-club printings came later and are not the first edition.
• Stiff Upper Lip — 1958 · Faber & FaberFirst printing, Faber and Faber, London, 1958, roughly 94 pages in cloth. Second collection of Antrobus diplomatic sketches (following Esprit de Corps), with line illustrations throughout and the dust-jacket design by Nicolas Bentley; the jacket should retain its printed price on the flap. The UK Faber and Faber edition of 1958 is the true first; the US E. P. Dutton edition followed in 1959. No book-club issue.
• The Dark Labyrinth — 1958 · Ace BooksFirst edition under this title: Ace Books paperback, London, 1958. The novel was originally published as Cefalu by Editions Poetry London in 1947; the retitled text first appeared in this 1958 Ace paperback. The first hardcover under the Dark Labyrinth title was the Faber and Faber edition of 1961. The true first appearance of the work is Cefalu (Editions Poetry London, 1947). Under the new title, the Ace Books paperback of 1958 is first thus, the Faber hardcover of 1961 is the first hardcover thus, and the US E. P. Dutton hardcover followed in 1962. Retitled reissue of an earlier novel rather than a new work; no book-club edition is the point of issue.
• Clea — 1960 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first impression, Faber and Faber, London, 1960. The fourth and final volume of The Alexandria Quartet. Red cloth with a pictorial dust jacket; the unclipped jacket carries the original British price. The UK Faber printing precedes the US E. P. Dutton edition, also dated 1960. UK Faber 1960 is the true first; the US E. P. Dutton edition of the same year follows it. Book-club printings came later and are not the first edition.
• Sauve Qui Peut — 1966 · Faber & FaberFirst printing, Faber and Faber, London, 1966. The third collection of Antrobus diplomatic stories (after Esprit de Corps and Stiff Upper Lip). Bound in original pink cloth with gilt-blocked titling to the spine; the text of roughly 82 pages carries nine full-page line drawings by Nicolas Bentley, one per story. First-issue dust jacket should retain its printed price to the front flap (unclipped), with sunning to…. The UK Faber and Faber edition of 1966 is the true first; the US Dutton edition followed in 1967. No book-club issue.
• Tunc — 1968 · Faber & FaberFirst printing, Faber and Faber, London, 1968. First volume of The Revolt of Aphrodite duology, followed a year later by Nunquam. Bound in brick-red (brown-red) cloth with the title stamped in gilt on the spine; the first-issue dustwrapper is sometimes found with a 'Book Society Choice' wraparound band, and its printed price should be present on the flap. The UK Faber edition of 1968 is the true first. A US Dutton edition also appeared in 1968, bound in blue cloth with gilt spine titling; consulted dealer sources do not establish month-level precedence between the two 1968 issues, but the Faber printing is treated as the true first. No book-club issue.
• Nunquam — 1970 · Faber & FaberFirst printing, Faber and Faber, London, 1970, the second volume of The Revolt of Aphrodite, completing the story begun in Tunc. Bound in cloth stamped in gilt on the spine; the first-state dust jacket is printed in red and black and should retain its printed price on the front flap (both unclipped and price-clipped copies are encountered). The UK Faber edition of 1970 is the true first; the US Dutton edition also appeared in 1970 but follows the London printing. No book-club issue.
• Monsieur, or The Prince of Darkness — 1974 · Faber & FaberFirst printing, Faber and Faber, London, 1974. First volume of The Avignon Quintet; original boards, dust-jacket illustration by David Gentleman. Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. UK Faber edition of 1974 is the true first; the US Viking edition followed in 1975. No book-club issue.
• Livia, or Buried Alive — 1978 · Faber & FaberFirst printing, Faber and Faber, London, 1978, the second volume of The Avignon Quintet. Publisher's green cloth boards lettered in gilt on the spine, collating (5, 1 blank), 265, (1 blank) pages, in the pictorial dust-jacket designed by David Gentleman. A first-state jacket retains the original printed price to the flap. UK Faber edition of 1978 is the true first; the US Viking edition followed in 1979. No book-club issue.
• Constance, or Solitary Practices — 1982 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, first impression: blue cloth boards with silver lettering to the spine, in the unclipped David Gentleman dust jacket with the printed price present, roughly 393 pages. Volume 3 (the central volume) of The Avignon Quintet; Booker Prize shortlist 1982. As a Faber & Faber title of this date, the first impression is identified by the 'First published in 1982' statement on the copyright page (year in…. UK Faber & Faber is the true first. A US edition followed from The Viking Press in 1982. No book-club issue noted.
• Sebastian, or Ruling Passions — 1983 · Faber & FaberFirst edition, Faber & Faber, London, 1983, in publisher's cloth with the dust jacket designed by David Gentleman. Volume 4 of The Avignon Quintet. ISBN 0571131115. The first-issue jacket bears the printed price at the flap and Gentleman's pictorial design; unclipped examples are preferred but clipping does not change the edition. UK Faber & Faber is the true first. A US edition followed from The Viking Press (dated 1983/1984). No book-club issue noted.
• Quinx, or The Ripper's Tale — 1985 · Faber & FaberLondon: Faber & Faber, 1985. First edition, first impression in publisher's olive cloth, 201 pp, with unclipped dust jacket bearing a David Gentleman watercolour and Pentagram jacket design; the printed price should be present to the front flap. ISBN 0571134440. Volume 5, the final volume, of The Avignon Quintet. UK Faber & Faber is the true first. A US edition followed from The Viking Press in 1985. No book-club issue noted.

More Literary Fiction (US) & Award Winners shelves: Lee Smith, Leigh Brackett, Lewis Carroll, Lois McMaster Bujold, Lorrie Moore, Louise Erdrich.

← All authors · All genres · part of the First-Edition Identification resource.