MAHFOUZ, Naguib (1911-2006)

[The Cairo Trilogy (al-Thulathiyya), comprising] Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, [and] Sugar Street [Inscribed by the translator]

Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press [through 1992], 1989. First Impression. `. True First English-language Editions of Mahfouz's masterpiece, one of the greatest works in Arab literature, complete in three volumes, each inscribed by the lead translator (Hutchins). Translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Olive E. Kenny, and Lorne M. Kenny. Royal 8vo (233 x 151mm): [8],498,[4]; [6],422,[4]; [8],308,[4]pp. Attractively and uniformly bound in quarter cloth (maroon, pale green, and French blue, respectively) over paper-covered boards (mid-brown, deep beige, and pink), spines stamped in gold; saffron, speckled pale green, and pinkish-red end papers (each matching its dust-jacket border); photo-illustrated dust jackets. Briefly inscribed on each half-title page by Hutchins. Presumed first printings, dated 1989, 1991, and 1992 on copyright pages, with no additional printings listed,and with publisher's code BG. Truly a spectacular set, all volumes very tight, square, and giving every evidence of being unread. One end paper very slightly browned at margins, trace of lightening to upper edge of one board; jackets crisp, fresh, and bright (one back panel creased top and bottom, short closed tear to front panel of another). Extremely collectible. Fine / Fine. Item #BB2098

Originally published, in Egyptian, as Bayn al-Qasrayn (1956), Qasr al-Shawq (1957), and al-Sukkariyya (1957). Mahfouz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988, the only Arab to be so honored. The Cairo Trilogy "chronicles the upheaval and change during the years 1917 to 1944 through the microscopic lens of a single family coming face to face with political events. Each of the three novels that comprise the trilogy was named after a street in Mahfouz’ home city: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street, their titles illustrative of the composition of the Jamaliyya quarter of Cairo where Mahfouz spent his childhood and where cramped, squalid blocks of flats neighboured spacious mansions. . . . the most pertinent issue from the first pages of Palace Walk to the very last scene of Sugar Street is how Egypt arrives at and copes with questions of modernity and self-identity as it struggles to find a place in the world of modern nation-states . . . (Literary Encyclopedia) The Palestinian-American literary critic Edward Said valorized Mahfouz as “not only a Hugo and a Dickens, but also a Galsworthy, a Mann, a Zola, and a Jules Romains. ” He was speaking not just to the author’s seismic impact but to the sheer range of techniques he introduced into the Arab novel. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

Price: $1,024.00