THE COLOSSUS OF MAROUSSI by Miller, Henry - 1941

San Francisco: Colt Press. Very Good. 1941. First Edition. Hardcover. 244 pages; Contents clean and secure in original blue cloth binding with printed title spine label; corners and spine ends rubbed, front board unevenly faded. Former owner's name and date on ffep - "David W. Lusher / Jan. 30, 1944 / Washington, D.C." "The Colossus of Maroussi is an impressionist travelogue by American writer Henry Miller that was first published in 1941 by Colt Press of San Francisco. Set in pre-war Greece of 1939, it is ostensibly an exploration of the "Colossus" of the title, George Katsimbalis, a poet and raconteur. The work is frequently heralded as Miller's best. In 1939, American writer Henry Miller left Paris, his home of nine years, as the Nazis began to take action in Europe and the outbreak of the Second World War loomed. In need of rejuvenation, he traveled to Greece at the invitation of his friend, British writer Lawrence Durrell, who lived in Corfu. Miller had already published what are considered some of his best-known works, including Tropic of Cancer, Black Spring, and Tropic of Capricorn. Miller drew his Colossus from events that occurred and landscapes he encountered while living for nine months in Greece. His portrayal of poet Katsimbalis and the country is tempered by the outbreak of the Second World War, which forced him to leave for the United States in December 1939.[2] Miller wrote the book in New York, and it reflects his resentment at having to return to America, as well as his feeling of isolation there." .