A WAY IN THE WORLD: A SEQUENCE by Naipaul, V. S - 1994

London, England: William Heinemann, 1994. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. London, England: William Heinemann, 1994. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 370 pages. The author's eleventh novel. One of V. S. Naipaul's finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the American Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents V. S. Naipaul's "A Way In The World: A Sequence". With emphasis upon "A Sequence", that is, the furthest Naipaulian extension of the novel imaginable. His American publisher has re-titled it "A Novel". "A series of extended essays, meditations, and historical reconstructions. Naipaul ruminates, with all his acute intelligence, on how History shapes personality, and vice versa. Begins and ends with autobiographical sketches: As a boy in Trinidad; as a bright young clerk with a scholarship and a future; as a fledgling writer struggling in London. These flank two longer pieces, which are both poignant and superbly realized portraits of elderly figures whose once-powerful lives were wrecked, more than 200 years apart, by their efforts to exploit the corner of South America where Trinidad looks across the Bay of Paria to the swampy mainland of Venezuela. Sir Walter Raleigh is seen on his last voyage, upon his return to death in the Tower. Francisco Miranda, an astonishing, courtly con artist who used, and was used by, both British and Spanish Governments as a would-be liberator of Latin America, is seen in Trinidad exile, exchanging thoughtful, chatty letters with his wife in London. Naipaul's mastery of his material is absolute, and his effortless, beautifully wrought prose carries the reader to the heart of the mysteries of human destiny" (Publishers Weekly) . "Plot is for those who already know the world; narrative is for those who want to discover it. This is what I would ask of the writer: How much of the modern world does his work contain?" (V. S. Naipaul) . "The greatest writer of English prose" (London Observer) . Bar none. Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul died on August 11, 2018 at the age of 85. An absolute "must-have" title for V. S. Naipaul collectors. <b><i> This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by V. S. Naipaul. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a great book. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and despite its imperfection (browning on page edges because of publisher's inferior paper) is still in fine condition overall: Clean, crisp, and bright. It is priced accordingly. Please note: Authentic signed Naipauls are rare. He has always been an elusive and reluctant signer. Most signed copies of his books are of the Limited Editions (on a tipped-in page) . Signed copies of the regular First Editions (on the title page) are actually much more scarce than the former. A rare signed copy thus. </b></i> Winner of the Booker Prize in 1971 for "In A Free State". Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001. One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER V. S. NAIPAUL TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0434510297.