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Tea and Sympathy
by ANDERSON, Robert
- Used
- Signed
- Condition
- Jacket with a trifle of soiling. A fine copy
- Seller
-
Ardsley, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Random House, 1953. From the Bart Auerbach Collection. Jacket with a trifle of soiling. A fine copy. 8vo. Photographs by Slim Aarons. Original cloth; pictorial dust jacket by Clifford Strohl Associates. First edition. Inscribed on the front free endpaper to Alan and Phyllis Sues: "For Alan & Phyllis - Two more loyal supporters a playwright never had. I am always touched by your kindness and enthusiasm. Affectionately Bob." Anderson's play stems from his experience of falling in love with an older woman while attending Phillips Exeter Academy. The male private school student, Tom Lee, faces accusations of homosexuality and the woman, Laura, opposes his shaming and romantically pursues him so he can prove his heterosexuality. The play's final line, "Years from now, when you speak of this, and you will, be kind," is one of the most quoted curtain lines in stage history. Alan Sues played the role of Ralph in the play (his Broadway debut). He and the actor/dancer Phyllis Sues married in 1953 and divorced in 1958. This could be confused for a dedication copy, as it was dedicated to another Phyllis: the playwright's wife, Phyllis Stohl.
Reviews
On May 9 2011, EarlEDoors said:
A play in three acts by Robert Anderson, which opened in London in 1957In a New England boys’ boarding school the only intimacy encouraged between the pupils and the masters’ wives is ‘tea and sympathy’. Laura though has more than sympathy for young Tom; he reminds her of her first husband-a sensitive boy who died in the Second World War proving his courage and manhood. Tom is persecuted for being different and is labelled a homosexual. In fact he is quite normal and is secretly crazy about Laura whose marriage to second husband Bill is distinctly rocky.Rejected by father friends and teachers tom tries to prove himself with the local whore but is impotent and tries to kill himself. For this act he must leave the school but on his last day Laura declares that she is leaving Bill whose persecution of Tom has made her see what Bill is covering up. She goes to Tom and finds him doubting himself so much that she offers herself – and he responds.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Riverrun Books & Manuscripts
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 409234
- Title
- Tea and Sympathy
- Author
- ANDERSON, Robert
- Book Condition
- Used - Jacket with a trifle of soiling. A fine copy
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- From the Bart Auerbach Collection
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1953
- Keywords
- Bart Auerbach
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Riverrun Books & Manuscripts
Biblio member since 2009
Ardsley, New York
About Riverrun Books & Manuscripts
Founded in 1978 and purchased in 2016 by Thomas Lecky, Riverrun specializes in fine, rare, and unusual books from all periods and genres. There are large holdings in art, photography, artists' books, fine printing, books about books, literature, signed and inscribed books, early printing, and Americana. We have thousands of books not listed online in these and many other fields, and are constantly sourcing new material from private collections and public auction. Please let us know if we can help you locate something not listed in our stock. We are members of the ABAA and are certified members of the Appraiser's Association of America.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Dedication Copy
- ...
- 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...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
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