The Casuarina Tree
Price: $6,500.00
Hard Cover. London: William Heinemann, 1926. First Edition. Near Fine / Dust Jacket Included.
First edition, first printing. One of 5,000 copies. Publisher's dark blue cloth, with author's symbol in black to front board, and gilt lettering to front board and spine; in its original wraparound pictorial dust jacket, with island scene in orange, blue, green and white by Ralph Keene, and 7/6 price to spine. Near fine book, with vibrant gilt, light wear to spine ends, and a touch of rubbing to lower corners; very good dust jacket, with some toning to spine, bright and clean panels, some shallow chipping to spine ends and panel edges, and 1 ¾" closed tear to foot of spine. Overall, an attractive example of the rare original dust jacket. Stott A34a. The Casuarina Tree is a collection of six stories by Maugham: "Before the Party," "P. & O.," "The Outstation," "The Force of Circumstance," "The Yellow Streak," and "The Letter." The stories are set in Federated Malay States and based on Maugham's own experiences traveling in the region in 1921 and 1925 with his romantic partner Gerald Haxton. In his introduction titled "The Casuarina Tree" Maugham explains his use of the casuarina tree as a metaphor for expatriates. Maugham published a second collection of stories based on his experiences in the Federated Malay States in 1933 titled Ah King. Item #WSM033
