Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (First Global Edition, 1945, in Original Dust Jacket) 🇬🇧📚🏰

This is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing of Evelyn Waugh's modern classic, Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder. Published in Boston in 1945 by Little, Brown and Company, this American printing holds priority over the British edition, making it the true global First Edition of the novel.

The volume is classified as a highly desirable literary asset and a cornerstone of 20th-century English fiction. Its primary value is secured by the presence of the original illustrated dust jacket and its status as the most collectible edition of a major cultural work

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨

Brideshead Revisited is a complex novel that is at once a sweeping family saga and a profound exploration of aristocracy, Catholicism, and memory. The story is narrated by Captain Charles Ryder, who revisits the grand, fictional Brideshead Castle and recounts his youthful entanglements with the wealthy, deeply Catholic Marchmain family.

The narrative explores themes of decadence, religious faith, and the ephemeral nature of beauty set against the backdrop of the English upper class from the 1920s through the Second World War. The book's content includes a note that "Parts of this novel appeared in abbreviated form in Town and Country," a detail important for collectors of magazine serialization history. The iconic dust jacket by Lester K. Peterson features a striking image of a fountain with classical figures.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️

Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) was an English novelist, biographer, and travel writer, widely regarded as one of the great satirical prose stylists of the 20th century. Waugh's life was as colorful as his fiction; he joined the British Marines during World War II and was among the first to volunteer in the Commando division.

The composition of Brideshead Revisited was a direct result of his wartime experiences, where he reportedly wrote the book while on leave. The novel is a departure from his earlier, lighter satires, being a meditation on Catholicism and the effects of time, and it remains his most critically revered work. The publisher notes that Alexander Woollcott once described Waugh as "the nearest thing to a genius among the young writers that have arisen in literary England since Bernard Shaw".

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜

The novel was published in 1945, the year World War II ended. It was written and released at a time of extreme upheaval in Britain, marking the final destruction of the old aristocratic order and the beginning of a post-war socialist government.

The book captures the nostalgia and intense psychological fatigue of the era. It is a reflection on the loss of beauty and tradition that was felt acutely by the British upper classes as their stately homes were requisitioned for military use. The American publication priority, due to wartime paper shortages in the UK, is a physical reflection of the global war's economic impact on the British literary industry. This volume is a time capsule of the intellectual and social transition from an old, ornate Europe to the modern era.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️

This volume is tailored for a Curator of 20th-Century English Literary First Editions and a Scholar of Wartime Literature. The Ideal Collector seeks the definitive edition of a cultural landmark

The book belongs in a library focused on Modernist and Catholic Literature, appealing to the buyer who understands the distinction of First Global Edition priority. The inclusion of the original dust jacket and the neat, period bookplate for Mr. & Mrs. C. Lester King enhances the artifact's historical completeness

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️

This book is an authenticated First Edition, First Printing from 1945, making it 80 years old. Its rarity is defined by its status as the true First Global Edition of the novel. This is a powerful factor in its premium market valuation

The book's value is substantially secured by the presence of the original illustrated dust jacket. This feature is functionally considered part of the book for collectible valuation, and its integrity is critical. The Ex Libris bookplate for Mr. & Mrs. C. Lester King adds a compelling Ephemera Premium, providing a verifiable layer of ownership history. The piece is an authenticated asset whose valuation is justified by its bibliographical scarcity and superior aesthetic

7. Condition 🔎📚✨

This is an authenticated First Edition hardcover with the original dust jacket.

• Positive Qualities:
  • The red cloth binding is clean and square.
  • The original dust jacket is present.
  • The interior pages are clean and tight, free of marking or foxing.
  • The Ex Libris bookplate for "Mr. & Mrs. C. Lester King" is neat and well-preserved.
• Imperfections:
  • The dust jacket shows wear consistent with its age, including chipping and minor tears, particularly at the spine ends.
  • The jacket's spine is sunned and darkened.
  • The book's cloth binding shows light rubbing to the ends.
  • The damage to the dust jacket triggers a mandatory deduction from the aspirational ceiling

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• This American First Edition precedes the UK First Edition because wartime paper rationing in Britain severely delayed its release
• The novel was a massive financial and critical success, with the publisher noting that "several thousand people in the United States either bought or borrowed a novel by Evelyn Waugh, read it, and rushed out to see their friends and make them read it".
• The dust jacket was illustrated by Lester K. Peterson and features the famous fountain sculpture that is central to the novel's imagery.
• The novel's publication caused a literary scandal due to its frank discussion of Catholicism and homosexuality within the English aristocracy.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Title: Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder
• Author: Evelyn Waugh
• Year of Publication: 1945
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
• Place of Origin: Boston, Printed in USA
• Format/Binding: Hardcover, Red Cloth Boards with Original Illustrated Dust Jacket
• Edition: First American Edition, First Printing (The First Global Edition)
• Rarity: High (First Global Edition in Dust Jacket)
• Verbatim Transcription of Inscription/Marking:
  • Ex Libris Bookplate: “Mr. & Mrs. C. Lester King”.