Genet, Jean

Miracle of the Rose

New York, NY: Grove Press, Inc., 1966. First American Edition. Hardcover. With owner's signature & marginalia of Clayton Eshleman. "...Genet's second novel, having been written in La Sante and Tourelles prisons in 1943, directly after Our Lady of the Flowers. Like that first work, Miracle of the Rose was written in the solitude of a prison cell, on the pieces of white paper the penal authorities furnish the convicts for making paper bags. The work is set in the State prison of Fontevrault. It is the height of the German Occupation, and in the prisons of France the convicts, barely subsisting on near-starvation rations, spend their endless days weaving camouflage nets for their German conquerors...Genet is no realist, and his account of prison life is an extraordinary mixture of dream and reality, past and present." (from front flap) The first American edition of the now-classic, still-provocative novel by Jean Genet (1910-1986), originally published in France during 1951. Published by Barney Rosset's fearless & legendary Grove Press imprint, & translated from the original French into English by Bernard Frechtman. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first printing as stated on copyright page. This copy is from the library of Clayton Eshleman (1935-2021), the great American poet, scholar & translator who was our dear friend & mentor here in Michigan, & who has very recently passed away as of this writing. On the shorter title page, Eshleman has hand-signed, placed & dated the year after publication: "(signed) Clayton Eshleman/ NYC 1967." Also, there are Eshleman's occasional ink underlinings & parentheses throughout the text of what he must have considered key passages; & on blank rear endpaper are several scholarly ink notes & references in his cursive hand, perpendicular on the page. An essential, exemplary Genet collectible; enriched & made more valuable with the insightful association & provenance of a most esteemed Man of Letters- Clayton Eshleman. Book in very fine condition with only a bit of rubbing & a few tiny bumps to edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; mild browning & occasional small, light spot-stains at edges of text block. Interior very fine with only tiny bumps at corners of a few page leaves; marginalia noted above which does not obscure any text & in this case increases rarity & significance. Dust jacket fine with mild-to-moderate rubbing, light browning & scratching to front, back covers, spine & flaps; very light wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at thin edges & corners of same. Very Fine / Fine. [Item #4164]

Price: $100.00