O’BRIEN, Flann [Myles na gCopaleen – Brian O’Nolan] At Swim-Two-Birds.

2,350.00

1 in stock

EXTREMELY RARE FIRST EDITION DESCRIBED BY GRAHAM GREENE AS IN THE “LINE OF TRISTRAM SHANDY AND ULYSSES”

London: Longmans, 1939. First edition, first issue. Demy octavo. pp. 316. Black cloth, titled in gilt. Previous owner’s signature on endpapers. Newspaper clippings loosely inserted. Top edge green tinted. Minor wear to heel of spine. A very good copy. Extremely rare.  Flann O’Brien’s masterpiece and first novel, is written in a comic manner involving elements of burlesque and parody, based on pulp fiction and Old and Middle Irish tales made familiar by the literary revival. This novel was profoundly conditioned by the stylistic experiments in ‘Ulysses’, and Joyce paid it the compliment of reciting passages by heart. Although not all that well-received at the time it is now recognised as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century, and for one glorious week in April 1939 it replaced ‘Gone With the Wind’ as top of the best-seller list in Dublin. In 1953, O’Nolan took voluntary retirement from the Civil Service due to a series of accidents and illness. In order to support himself and his wife he stepped up production of his ‘Cruiskeen Lawn’ column in the ‘Irish Times’, syndicated a somewhat tamer column to provincial papers, and took hack work wherever he could find it. This is the exceedingly rare first edition in black cloth. Most of this issue was destroyed when the Germans bombed London including Longman’s premises in 1940.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

Book an Appointment

You are welcome to visit and meet us in person to browse our extensive libraries of antiquarian books, maps, and other items relating to Ireland.

De Burca Rare Books

Address

De Búrca Rare Books,
‘Cloonagashel’,
27 Priory Drive, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin,
A94 V406,
Ireland

T. +353 (0) 1 288 2159
F. +353 (0) 1 283 4080
M. +353 (0) 87 259 5918
E. deburcararebooks@gmail.com
W. deburcararebooks.com

Office Hours

Monday to Friday
9:00am to 5:30pm

Saturday
10:00am to 1:00pm.

An appointment is preferred.

 

Welcome to De Búrca Rare Books

Welcome to De Búrca Rare Books

 

Stay Updated & Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive news from the Irish antiquarian book world and get updates on our latest catalogues and publications.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Welcome to De Búrca Rare Books

Welcome to De Búrca Rare Books

 

Stay Updated & Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive news from the Irish antiquarian book world and get updates on our latest catalogues and publications.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Shopping cart
There are no products in the cart!
Continue shopping