SAUNDERS, George. Lincoln in the Bardo. London: Bloomsbury, 2017.
8vo. Publisher's white cloth, spine lettered in green; in the original dust wrapper (not price-clipped); marbled endpapers; pp. [xiii], 4-341, [17]; author's signature to title; slight bruising to tail of spine; light creasing to top edge of wrapper; slight bumping to upper outer corner of wrapper; near fine.
First edition, boldly signed and dated in black felt pen to the title page. Set in 1862 during the American Civil War, this work of historical fiction blends together elements of the supernatural and explores themes of grief, loss, and the human condition. Revolving around the real-life tragedy of President Lincoln's young son, Willie, who died of typhoid fever, Saunders imagines the afterlife as a "bardo," a Tibetan Buddhist term for an intermediate state between death and rebirth in which the spirits of the dead remain trapped, unable to move on to the next realm. Celebrated for its innovative narrative style which combines historical accounts, dialogues, and fragmented narratives, Lincoln in the Bardo is a poignant and imaginative exploration of the enduring power of love and the complexities of the human experience.
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