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The Day of the Triffids.
by WYNDHAM, John
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
London, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Michael Joseph,, 1951. A British sci-fi classic First edition, first impression, of Wyndham's science fiction classic. "His story of the perambulating vegetable menace which takes over a Britain stricken with blindness was an immediate success. The inferior MGM film version (1963) starred Howard Keel, and a BBC television adaptation appeared in 1981" (Brian Aldiss in ODNB). The novel sold as well and steadily as a Penguin book. "As this critic has remarked elsewhere, Wyndham was the master of the 'cosy catastrophe' (Aldiss, 293). Although that vogue has passed, Wyndham's importance in the rebirth of British science fiction after the Second World War was second to none. His very English style ('the Trollope of science fiction', according to one reviewer), coupled with the Wellsian gift for exploring emotive ideas, brought him international success and encouraged others to strike out in the same way". Octavo. Original green cloth, silver lettered spine. With dust jacket. Jacket with some nicks and chips to extremities, some minor tape repair to verso of spine panel. A very good copy in very good jacket. Locke, A Spectrum of Fantasy, I p. 237.
Synopsis
The Day of the Triffids is a post-apocalyptic novel written in 1951 by the English science fiction author John Wyndham. Although Wyndham had already published other novels, this was the first published under the John Wyndham pen-name. It established him as an important writer, and remains his best known novel. When Bill Masen wakes up blindfolded in hospital there is a bitter irony in his situation. Carefully removing his bandages, he realizes that he is the only person who can see: everyone else, doctors and patients alike, have been blinded by a meteor shower. Now, with civilization in chaos, the triffids - huge, venomous, large-rooted plants able to 'walk', feeding on human flesh - can have their day. The Day of the Triffids , published in 1951, expresses many of the political concerns of its time: the Cold War, the fear of biological experimentation and the man-made apocalypse. However, with its terrifyingly believable insights into the genetic modification of plants, the book is more relevant today than ever before.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Peter Harrington
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 98317
- Title
- The Day of the Triffids.
- Author
- WYNDHAM, John
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Place of Publication
- London: Michael Joseph,
- Date Published
- 1951
Terms of Sale
Peter Harrington
All major credit cards are accepted. Both UK pounds and US dollars (exchange rate to be agreed) accepted. Books may be returned within 14 days of receipt for any reason, please notify first of returned goods.
About the Seller
Peter Harrington
Biblio member since 2006
London
About Peter Harrington
Since its establishment, Peter Harrington has specialised in sourcing, selling and buying the finest quality original first editions, signed, rare and antiquarian books, fine bindings and library sets. Peter Harrington first began selling rare books from the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's King's Road. For the past twenty years the business has been run by Pom Harrington, Peter's son.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Verso
- The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
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