"Originally published in 1949, William Faulkner's Knight's Gambit is a collection of six stories written in the 1930s and 1940s that focus on the criminal investigations of Yoknapatawpha's long-time county attorney, Gavin Stevens-a man more interested in justice than the law. All previous and current editions of Knight's Gambit have been based on the first edition, which is fraught with a number of problems. Since tear sheets of the five previously published stories were used in setting the first edition, the original ...
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"Originally published in 1949, William Faulkner's Knight's Gambit is a collection of six stories written in the 1930s and 1940s that focus on the criminal investigations of Yoknapatawpha's long-time county attorney, Gavin Stevens-a man more interested in justice than the law. All previous and current editions of Knight's Gambit have been based on the first edition, which is fraught with a number of problems. Since tear sheets of the five previously published stories were used in setting the first edition, the original Knight's Gambit is a hodgepodge of various magazines' house styles with no consistency in punctuation and spelling conventions from story to story. Far greater issues arise, however, from the substantive (and sometimes substantial) changes magazine editors made to Faulkner's prose. These changes were made variously for concision, propriety, or magazine design. Sometimes northern editors removed the southernness of Faulkner's stories, either out of ignorance of the South or in order to appeal to a mass audience. Using four previously unknown Faulkner typescripts, along with other manuscript and typescript evidence, John N. Duvall presents an edition of Knight's Gambit that restores over four thousand words that editors cut from the stories. Also included is an introduction by Duvall discussing the role of detective fiction and popular magazines in creating a different kind of postwar readership for Faulkner that paves the way for the eventual republication of Faulkner's modernist masterpieces. The new edition enables readers to reevaluate the stories of Knight's Gambit and their place in Faulkner's career as a short story writer"--
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. First English edition. Light foxing on the foredge, near fine in a price-clipped, near fine dust jacket with tiny nicks and tears, and a small internal repair. A collection of stories featuring the lawyer, Gavin Stevens, as the central character. The story "Tomorrow" was adapted by Horton Foote, first into a teleplay, then a stage production, and finally an interesting 1972 film starring Robert Duvall in a performance that foreshadowed Billy Bob Thornton's character in *Slingblade*. *Queen's Quorum*.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 9x6x1; Random House; New York, 1949. Hardcover. First edition, first printing. A Very Good, red cloth binding with gilt lettering on front board and spine, binding sturdy and intact, some rubbing along board edges, bit of crimping to spine edges, small dent top rear board edge, bit of age toning to pages, bit of scattered foxing to text block edges, mild musty odor, in a Very Good, some handling/scuff marks to panels, bit of edge/corner wear, verso DJ is tape reinforced, sunned flaps, mild scattered foxing to verso panels and flaps, Mylar protected, Dust wrapper. A nice, overall clean and unmarked copy. 8vo[octavo or approx. 6 x 9], 246pp. We pack securely and ship daily w/delivery confirmation on every book. The picture on the listing page is of the actual book for sale. Additional Scan(s) are available for any item, please inquire.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Very Good+ dust jacket. 0394432088. First Edition. Close to fine in Vg. + price-clipped dust jacket. (Chipping to top 1/4"-inch of spine on jacket with no loss to titles. Shallow chipping at base of spine. A few edge tears & light shelfwear. ); 5 3/4" x 8 1/4"; 246 pages.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Near Fine jacket. First edition. Fine in a price-clipped else near fine dust jacket with a little rubbing at the spine and crown. A very nice, presentable copy of this collection of stories featuring the lawyer Gavin Stevens as the central character. The story "Tomorrow" was adapted by Horton Foote, first into a teleplay, then a stage production, and finally as an interesting 1972 film starring Robert Duvall in a performance that foreshadowed Billy Bob Thornton's character in *Slingblade*. *Queen's Quorum* 105.
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Seller's Description:
Good. This item has a different cover than shown in the listing but shares the same ISBN. Some sun-fading on the cover. A former library book with all the expected stamps stickers and markings. Some shelf storage or usage wear present. The binding is tight and all pages are present. Missing dustjacket. The pages appear unmarked. Individually inspected by Scott. Thanks for supporting an independent bookseller!
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. Signed by author. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. Audience: General/trade. SIGNED FIRST EDITION, with red boards that are fresh and bright, title and spine design is crisp and bright. Spine, corners, and board edges are clean with hardly any wear. Internally the book is clean, square, and tight, as is the binding. Top edge black-stained. DJ (in brodart) shows price of $2.75 on upper fold. It is sharp with minimal wear on spine and top edges but some small loss at top and bottom 1/8" of spine. Very clean and sharp copy of this classic.
This book is a collection of five short stories and one novella, all involving mysteries unraveled by Gavin Stevens, the county attorney of Yoknapatawpha County. The stories follow Gavin Stevens?s life and career, from his first criminal trial right out of law school in the story Tomorrow to his late-in-life marriage in Knight?s Gambit.
With one exception, the stories in this collection are lighter fare than most of Faulkner?s works. The exception is Tomorrow which is, by far, the best story in this book and ranks with the finest of Faulkner?s fiction. Unlike most of the stories, it is not a murder mystery. Rather, Gavin Stevens tries to understand the reasons behind the lone hold-out juror?s refusal to vote to acquit a defendant. Stevens?s investigation takes him forty miles and back where he interviews the juror?s neighbors and former employer. He pieces together twenty years of the juror?s heartbreaking life story which he sums up in the phrase ?the lowly and the invincible of the earth ? to endure and endure and then endure, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.?
Hand Upon the Waters is another fine story, not because of the mystery but because of the character of the murder victim. When the story opens, Lonnie Grinnup is already dead. The reader learns about him through the reactions of the community and the recollections of Gavin Stevens. Lonnie was the last of his family and was feeble-minded. He lived in a fortified canvas tent beside a river and showed up at neighbors? houses when nights got too cold. Like the biblical parable of the widow who gave her last coin to help people poorer than herself, Lonnie used all that God gave him. He took in a deaf and mentally-disabled orphan whom no one else wanted and raised him as his son or little brother. I desperately wanted the story to end in justice and retribution.
In the title novella, Gavin Stevens tries to stay one step ahead of someone who is planning a murder. The novella involves a chess motif of a knight double-checking a queen and a castle. Figuring out the chess parallel turned out to be more of a challenge than the mystery itself.
Faulkner was not a lawyer and his courtroom passages aren?t always convincing. Nonetheless, there is much human appeal to these stories. There is some evidence that Faulkner based the character of Gavin Stevens on himself, particularly in regard to Gavin?s understated romance in Knight?s Gambit. Those who are familiar with Faulkner?s biography may recognize Estelle Faulkner in Mrs. Harriss of Knight?s Gambit.
