Virginia. A Play
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1981. 1st US Edition. Octavo, publisher’s turquoise cloth over ecru paper-covered boards, spine stamped in silver, original illustrated dust jacket.
Signed first US edition of award-winning Irish novelist and short story writer Edna O’Brien’s play about Virginia Woolf’s life and loves. Transcending a chronological narrative, the entirety of the one-woman drama is composed from fragments of Woolf’s diaries, letters, and other documents, along with work by Leonard Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. O’Brien has often cited Woolf as one of her literary inspirations, and the play is representative of their shared thematic concerns. Virginia was first performed at the Stratford Festival in Canada in 1980, with Maggie Smith starring as Woolf. Dust jacket designed by American artist and designer John Alcorn. Signed on the title page. Stated first edition on the copyright page, with B the highest letter in letter-row, indicating first printing per the publisher's custom from 1973-83, when they did not use the letter A. Published simultaneously in the UK. Light toning to board edges, else fine in price-clipped dust jacket. Item #6547
$65.00