Rhys, Jean - Wide Sargasso Sea - Norton: New York, 1966 - First Edition / First Printing - Complete number line, starting with “1”, present on the copyright page as required in order to denote the first printing of the first edition.
“I hated the mountains and the hills, the rivers and the rain. I hated the sunsets of whatever colour, I hated its beauty and its magic and the secret I would never know. I hated its indifference and the cruelty which was part of its loveliness. Above all I hated her. For she belonged to the magic and the loveliness. She had left me thirsty and all my life would be thirst and longing for what I had lost before I found it.”
The book has edge wear with rubbing, light soiling, and spotting to the upper edge of the block. The boards remain mostly straight, the lettering on the spine is legible, the binding has a slight slant but is firm, and internally the block remains clean. The price clipped dust jacket has foxing, rubbing, small abrasions, shallow chipping, and general wear. All that said this is still a solid example of the rather fragile dust jacket. A nice copy of the work which helped to revive Rhys’ floundering career. The prequel to Bronte’s Jane Eyre.