CAMUS, Albert

The Outsider [L'Étranger]

Published by Hamish Hamilton, London, 1946 [first edition]

8vo; pp. [half-title], [104]

First published in French by Gallimard in 1942, the English translation was done by the highly regarded translator and scholar Stuart Gilbert. Cyril Connolly supplied an introduction, but the volume is perhaps best known for the striking Bawden jacket design.

Camus' novel itself is a classic of twentieth century writing, and was quickly identified as such, notably by Jean Paul Sartre, who explored the existentialist themes of the book. More recently, post-colonial questions have loomed large. This is a contentious aspect of the book: Camus in no way humanizes the victim of his narrator's crime, referring to him only as 'the Arab'. But Camus' narrator is himself an anti-hero, and recent scholarship has tended to see the novel as itself a critique of the colonial relationship.

A very good copy in a good jacket: the illustrated front panel is bright and crisp, with minimal wear; the spine worn to the top and slightly discoloured; rear panel with spotting, as tends to be the case; the volume itself in excellent condition: light spotting to the top edge, but the fragile war-time stock very well preserved.