Books

London: Faber & Faber, 1939. Pp. [iv]+628; med. 8vo; red cloth, spine lettered and ruled in gilt; top edges yellow, others uncut and partly unopened; price-clipped dust wrapper, edges rubbed and chipped, with large piece torn from top edge of front panel (causing loss to first 5 letters of first word of title), with a smaller piece torn from the back panel causing loss of one letter of title, remains of early tape repairs to wrapper edges on reverse, the backstrip slightly discoloured; book label of David Levine, Sydney, on upper pastedown, a couple of marginal damp stains, some foxing, mainly to outer leaves and edges; Faber & Faber, London, 1939. First trade edition. Slocum & Cahoon A47; Connolly, The Modern Movement, 87. *James Joyce's final work, 950 copies of which (still in sheet form) were destroyed by the publishers. 'When one of the very greatest of modern authors completes a work to which he has devoted sixteen years of labour - and which, hitherto described as Work in…

Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It is significant for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works in the Western canon. The book, Joyce's final and most avant-garde work, is structured as a sort of feverish dream containing multilingual puns, numerous literary and historical allusions, and a rich tapestry of themes.