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Short Reign of Pippin IV, The
New York: The Viking Press, 1957. Item #06577
Steinbeck’s Satirical Fantasy of Monarchy Restored
A Political Fable - Light in Tone, Sharp in Observation
STEINBECK, John. The Short Reign of Pippin IV. A Fabrication. New York: The Viking Press, 1957.
First edition, first issue. Octavo (8 x 5 3/8 inches; 201 x 137 mm.). [1–10], 11–188, [4, blank] pp.
Publisher’s quarter yellow linen over salmon patterned boards, spine lettered in red, top edge stained red. Neat ink signature on front free endpaper dated “4-11/57.” Original color pictorial dust jacket, spine very slightly faded, with minor rubbing to extremities. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.
A late Steinbeck curiosity - part political satire, part whimsical allegory - imagining the improbable restoration of monarchy in modern France. Written during the 1950s, the novel reflects both Cold War anxieties and Steinbeck’s growing interest in European political culture, filtered through a light, almost playful narrative voice.
While less overtly serious than his earlier major works, Pippin IV offers a pointed meditation on power, legitimacy, and the absurdities of governance.
Goldstone & Payne A38a.
Price: $450.00