"Space Trilogy" Out of the Silent Planet; Perelandra; That Hideous Strength. First Editions, Original Dust Jackets, 1943-1945.

LEWIS, C.S. (1898?1963)

Edité par Macmillan and Co., New York, 1944

LEWIS, C.S. The Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet; Perelandra; That Hideous Strength. London: John Lane / The Bodley Head, 1943, 1945.

FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST ISSUES of Perelandra and Hideous Strength. First edition, ?Reprint? issue of Out of the Silent Planet. (First edition, 1943 reprint impression.) Three volumes, complete. Octavo (8vo.). All with original publisher?s cloth. All with original dust jackets, now preserved with mylar covers.

A complete set of the U.K. Wartime Editions of C. S. Lewis?s Space Trilogy, comprising Out of the Silent Planet (First edition, second printing; 1943 reprint of the 1938 first edition), Perelandra (1943 First Edition, First Issue), and That Hideous Strength (1945 First Edition, First Issue), all published by John Lane / The Bodley Head, London during World War II, under wartime paper restrictions and ?War Economy? production regulations as stated on copyright pages.

Contents with clean interiors throughout for all three volumes. Pages complete. Minor foxing to some top, fore, and bottom edges. Very Good+ condition of Out of the Silent Planet, bright robin-blue cloth retaining its full color, minimal shelf wear; pp. 264, 1 pp. publisher?s adverts. Perelandra with sun fading to bottom portion of spine cloth; pp. 256. That Hideous Strength with spine lean, though binding and text block remain tight; pp. 476. All bindings are sound and firm, with no loose pages or visible netting.

Original dust jackets retaining iconic pictorials on front covers, and complete back covers, with majority of spines; chipping and minor losses to wartime paper covers, as usual. Full dust jacket in Out of the Silent Planet retaining full flaps of dust jacket. Perelandra dust jacket with inner flap?s corner clipped, though still retaining price: 8s. 6d. That Hideous Strength with lower corner of inner flap clipped. Overall presenting better than typically encountered for wartime issues.

Lewis reportedly began the trilogy after a conversation with his friend J. R. R. Tolkien. The two men lamented the lack of modern fantasy and Sci Fi they admired, Tolkien proposing a ?time travel? story while Lewis undertook a ?space travel? tale, resulting in Out of the Silent Planet. Lewis?s Space Trilogy represents his most sustained exploration of theological, philosophical, and speculative themes within fiction. Rather than presenting outer space as cold or mechanistic, Lewis imagined the cosmos as spiritually alive and morally ordered.

Out of the Silent Planet reflects his criticism of imperialism and colonial exploitation, contrasting destructive human ambition with the harmonious planetary civilizations he envisioned. Perelandra, often regarded as the literary high point of the trilogy, reimagines the Garden of Eden and the Fall of Man upon Venus. That Hideous Strength, radically different in tone from the first two volumes, becomes a dystopian critique of technocracy, dehumanization, propaganda, and institutional power, themes that have drawn renewed attention in the modern age.

C.S. Lewis is one of the most important figures of both 20th century literature and of Christian thought. His fantasy novels, this Space Trilogy and the Narnia series, are beloved by children and adults alike, known for their powerful storytelling within richly imagined worlds.

A well-preserved, scarce set: First Editions of The U.K. ?Space Trilogy? in original dust jackets.

Additional pictures are gladly provided on request. Books will be carefully wrapped and boxed securely for safe handling during transit, with international shipping available.
[Attributes: First Edition; Hard Cover; Dust Jacket.]
3 volumes. N° de réf. du vendeur 25/6CSL4.Fv.3

Détails bibliographiques

Titre : "Space Trilogy" Out of the Silent Planet; ...
Éditeur : Macmillan and Co., New York
Date d'édition : 1944
Reliure : Couverture rigide
Etat : Assez bon
Etat de la jaquette : Assez bon
Edition : Edition originale