NORA WEBSTER by Toibin, Colm - 2014

New York City, NY: Scribner & Company, 2014. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Scribner & Company, 2014. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 373 pages. The author's seventh novel. One of Colm Toibin's finest achievements. The first appearance of the title in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly copies that are signed on a tipped-in page. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Colm Toibin's "Nora Webster". Impeccably written historical novel. "Widowed at forty, with four children and not enough money, Nora has lost the love of her life, Maurice, the man who rescued her from the stifling world to which she was born. And now she fears she may be drawn back into it. Wounded, strong-willed, clinging to secrecy in a tiny community where everyone knows your business, Nora is drowning in her own sorrow and blind to the suffering of her young sons, who have lost their father. Yet she has moments of stunning empathy and kindness, and when she begins to sing again, she finds solace, engagement, a haven: Herself. A masterpiece in character study by a writer at the zenith of his career, Toibin has created a character as iconic, engaging, and memorable as Madame Bovary or Hedda Gabler" (Publisher's blurb). Music (particularly, singing), an Irish specialty, is the running motif in Toibin's novel, the underlying "second voice" to the protagonist's "first voice". Nora Webster is a quiet heroine who paradoxically discloses through silence and conceals through speech. It is through song, a beautiful voice, that she finally regains and reveals herself to the world. An absolute "must-have" title for Colm Toibin collectors. <b><i> This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed, placed, and dated (shortly after publication) in black ink-pen on the title page by the author: "Colm Toibin 9 Nov 14 Chicago". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed, placed, and post-publication dated copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. </b></i> One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER COLM TOIBIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1439138338.