Description
A first edition, first printing of Murder in the Cathedral by TS Eliot, published by Faber, London in 1935. A near fine copy without inscriptions, boards bound in publisher’s original purple cloth with gilt titling to the spine, a little pushing to spine tiops, a small stain to the head of the spine, a bump to the upper edge of top board, toning to the text block. In a very good unclipped wrapper with chipping to the spine tips, chipping to the knuckles of front and rear flap folds, creasing to the upper edge, some minor loss to the upper edge of front panel, toning to the spine and hinges of front and rear flaps.
First performed in 1935, T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral dramatises the final days of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, before his assassination in 1170. Written in verse, it explores his conflict with Henry II, the temptations of power and the spiritual dangers of pride. A chorus of Canterbury women gives voice to communal fear and suffering. The play examines faith, conscience and martyrdom, bringing medieval religious drama into a distinctly modern poetic form.
