Brighton Rock
London: William Heinemann Ltd., [1938]. Item #06481
“Greeneland Begins: Brighton Rock and the Birth of Pinkie Brown”
GREENE, Graham. Brighton Rock. A Novel… London: William Heinemann Ltd., [1938].
First edition. Octavo (7 3/8 x 5 inches; 187 x 124 mm.). [viii], 361, [1, blank] pp.
Publisher's red cloth over boards, spine lettered in gilt, minimal browning to text, small stain on lower edge of block not affecting text. A near fine copy.
One of the defining novels of Graham Greene’s early career, Brighton Rock established the distinctive moral and psychological terrain that would come to characterize his finest work.
Set in the seedy underworld of the English seaside town, the novel follows the chillingly amoral teenage gangster Pinkie Brown, whose ruthless ambition and warped sense of Catholic guilt drive the narrative toward its inexorable conclusion.
A masterful fusion of crime fiction and theological inquiry, the novel explores themes of sin, damnation, innocence, and the possibility of grace, marking one of the earliest and most compelling expressions of what would later be termed “Greeneland.” Its critical and commercial success secured Greene’s reputation as a major novelist and led to enduring adaptations, most notably the 1947 film starring Richard Attenborough in a breakthrough role.
Price: $950.00