SIGNED BY TOM STOPPARD

Stoppard, Tom ~ Travesties : Signed By The Author

Faber and Faber, London : 1975

The First UK Printing published by Faber and Faber, London in 1975. 8vo., dark green publisher's cloth, lettered in gilt to spine; together in the unclipped photographic wrapper ('£2.50 net' to the front flap) showing black and white images of John Wood as Henry Carr and Beth Morris as Cecily Carruthers, taken by Sophie Baker; The BOOK is in Very Good++ condition, lightly spotted and offset to the end-papers with a little tide marking to the outer edges of the end-papers (see images) ; The WRAPPER similarly in Very Good ++ condition. Lightly rubbed and creased, mostly to the upper edge and spine tips, with some light offsetting and brown marks to the upper edge of flaps. Still an excellent example. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. Signed by the author (without dedication) in black ink to the title page. A copy of the ticket to the 12th Althorp Literary Festival is loosely laid in as provenance. Stoppard's thirteenth play, which debuted at the Aldwych Theatre, London, on 10 June 1974, and was originally performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Drawing together the three central figures of Lenin, Joyce and Tristan Tzara, who were all living in Zurich during the Great War, Stoppard's plot focuses on Henry Carr, a British consular official who is asked to perform in Joyce's performance of 'The Importance of Being Ernest'. The play is based on real-life events, with Carr being a true consular official living at the time in Switzerland, and Wilde's play being staged by Joyce's short-lived theatre company, The English Players. The production led to an angry dispute between Carr and Joyce, which had ended in a legal battle in which the judge had ruled in favour of both disputants on different counts. In revenge, Joyce later portrayed Carr as a drunken, foul-mouthed soldier in his stage adaptation of Ulysses. A lovely example of one of Stoppard's major works. (Warner A6 a).

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very good ++
JACKET: Very Good ++