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DURRELL, Lawrence.

[The Alexandria Quartet]. Justine; Balthazar; Mountolive; Clea.

London, Faber and Faber, 1957, 1958, 1958 & 1960.

Regular price  £1,750.00
Sale price  £1,750.00 Regular price 

[The Alexandria Quartet]. Justine; Balthazar; Mountolive; Clea.

94 New Bond Street

Available to collect, usually ready in 24 hours

94 New Bond Street
London W1S 1SJ
United Kingdom

+442074930876
Unusually the first and scarcest title (Justine) is in much better condition than the others.

At the age of 11, Durrell, who was born in the North of India near Tibet, was sent 'home' to England to be educated. He disliked living in such a different country and culture and never fully adjusted to it, even after his father's early death in 1932 when his mother returned with the rest of the family to live in England. Later, in 1935, following his first marriage, Durrell moved with his mother and his siblings to Corfu, which he felt reminded him of India. While in Greece, he drafted a novel entitled The Book of the Dead, a predecessor to his first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. However, it was only much later, in 1952, after his return to the Mediterranean, Durrell began actually writing Justine. During the 1940s he had worked for the British Information Office in Egypt. He was separated from his first wife, Nancy Myers, and in Alexandria he met Eve Cohen, a Jewish woman on whom the character of Justine is loosely based and who became his second wife. Durrell would eventually complete the Quartet in France.

First editions, first impressions; 4 vols, 8vo; comprising Justine, publisher's red cloth with gilt title on a pale blue background, pale blue topstain, dust-jacket; Balthazar, publisher's blue cloth with gilt title on a red background, dust-jacket; Mountolive, publisher's yellow cloth with gilt title on a purple background, dust-jacket; Clea, publisher's red cloth with gilt title on a dark green background, dust-jacket, ownership signatures to front endpapers of Justine and Mountolive, dust-jackets, rubbed, somewhat faded and chipped but still a very good set.

Stock code 108422

DELIVERY & RETURNS

We accept returns within 30 days of purchase. Please note that all items must be returned in their original condition, including all tags and packaging. Shipping costs are non-refundable.

Set of first impressions of Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet published in London between 1957 and 1960.

[The Alexandria Quartet]. Justine; Balthazar; Mountolive; Clea.

Regular price  £1,750.00
Sale price  £1,750.00 Regular price 

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