This is a pristine, as-new copy of the first one-volume Castle Hill Press limited edition of the full 1922 "Oxford' text, hand-numbered #1010 of 1,225 copies. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the story of T.E. Lawrence's (1888-1935) remarkable odyssey as instigator, organizer, hero, and tragic figure of the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, which he began as an eccentric junior intelligence officer and ended as "Lawrence of Arabia." This time defined Lawrence with indelible experience and celebrity, which he would spend the rest of his famously short life struggling to reconcile and reject, to recount and repress. Lawrence famously resisted publication of his masterwork for the general public during his lifetime. The saga is remarkable. He nearly completed a massive first draft in 1919, only to famously lose it when his briefcase was mislaid at a train station. This first draft was never recovered. At a fever pitch, Lawrence wrote a new 400,000 word draft in 1920. This punishing burst of writing was followed by an equally brutal process of editing by Lawrence. In 1922, a 335,000 word version was carefully circulated to select friends and literary critics - the famous "Oxford Text". George Bernard Shaw called it "a masterpiece". Nonetheless, Lawrence was unready to see it distributed to the public. Finally, in 1926, a further edited 250,000 word "Subscribers' Edition" was produced by Lawrence - but fewer than 200 copies were made, each lavishly and uniquely bound. The process cost Lawrence far more than he made in subscriptions. To recover the loss, Lawrence finally authorized an edition for the general public - but one even further abridged and entitled "Revolt in the Desert". It was only in the summer of 1935, in the weeks following Lawrence's death, that the text of the Subscribers' Edition was finally published for circulation to the general public. However, the fuller "Oxford Text" - a third longer than the shortened text which became so famous - would not be republished until 1997. Castle Hill took this text from the manuscript in the Bodleian Library and T.E. Lawrence's annotated copy of the 1922 Oxford Times printing. Castle Hill Press first published a three-volume limited edition of 752 sets of the Oxford Text, followed by a one-volume limited edition of 1,225 copies in 2003. This copy is hand-numbered #1010. It is printed on acid-free paper in a sewn binding of medium brown cloth with top edge gilt, head and footbands, illustrated endpapers, ribbon page marker, 16 pages of plates bearing 18 black and white photographs, and illustrated color endpapers reproduced from maps prepared by Lawrence for Seven Pillars of Wisdom in 1926. New to the one-volume edition and notable is an award-winning Index by Hazel K. Bell. Condition of this copy is as-new. The book was purchased by us from the publisher and has not been handled or read. The book is protected by a clear, archival mylar cover and housed in a plain slipcase with dark brown paper covered sides and black cloth top and bottom. Please note that this large, heavy book may require additional postage. Bibliographic reference: O'Brien A034a.
Please note that California sales tax will be added to the purchase amount for any buyer in California.