Societal and Psychological Fragmentation
LESSING, Doris The Golden Notebook. London: Michael Joseph. 1962.
8vo. Publisher’s black cloth, lettered in gilt to spine, iconic yellow dust wrapper designed by William Belcher with author’s photograph to rear panel, priced at 30s to front flap; pp. 567, [1]; a little wear to jacket especially to hinges of flaps, a few chips and small closed tears, slight toning to spine, a couple of short pen marks to spine and one to front panel, slight pushing to crown of spine; endpapers lightly offset, some toning to edges of textblock; else a near-fine copy in a very good dust-jacket.
First edition, first impression of the Nobel Prize winner’s masterpiece.
The Golden Notebook centres on Anna Wulf, a writer who is attempting to unify the four fragmented notebooks in which she has compartmentalised her life into a single ‘golden’ volume. Lessing’s inspiration for the novel arose out of a desire to write a book about the act of writing itself. Initially, she resisted this ambition, feeling as though the trope had been overworked, but over time she realised her individual approach could render it entirely new.
With an explicit focus on the position of women in society, Lessing explores wider societal breakdown through the mental break Anna is experiencing. Written at the dawn of second-wave feminism, the work resonates with the era’s emergent discourses on sexual liberation and the women’s movement.
SKU: 2120161