FOLIO SOCIETY THE BLUE FLOWER Penelope Fitzgerald NEW SEALED

Description: Folio Society – THE BLUE FLOWER by Penelope Fitzgerald In his introduction to this edition, Neel Mukherjee describes Fitzgerald’s books as ‘slim, fleet-footed, at once weightless, like air, and immense with the worlds they contain’. Reading The Blue Flower is an ethereal and addictive experience, sure to be just the beginning of a literary journey with an underrated yet exceptional writer. Award-winning illustrator James Albon, working with reductive lino cuts, provides images that reflect the shifting nature of Fritz himself: energetic and melancholy, light and dark. The Blue Flower tells of the early life of Fritz von Hardenberg, the young man who would become the great romantic poet and philosopher Novalis. Brilliant and idealistic, his heart is captured by the young Sophie von Kuhn, an artless child he nonetheless describes as his ‘true Philosophy’. His family, alternately bemused and charmed, do their best to both hinder and aid this ultimately tragic betrothal. Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel is a modern masterpiece, a feat of immersion and sleight of hand; it is effortlessly light, reducing the great distance of history to little more than the turn of a page, whilst containing unexpected depths of poetry at its heart. Repeatedly voted Book of the Year on its first publication in 1995, this is a novel as enjoyable as it is enlightening. Full of the detail essential to historical fiction, the society of 18th century Germany lives and breathes in its pages. From the delightfully obnoxious Bernhard, the younger brother who insists on rummaging through their guests’ luggage, to the long-suffering sister Sidonie, the fiercely intelligent Hardenberg family forms the web that connects this novel of illuminating snapshots. Fritz and his ‘heart’s heart’ sit at the centre, weaving a romance that is touching, sad, and as unattainable as the titular blue flower itself. ‘A work of exquisite, crystalline intelligence and angular polish’ – Richard Holmes (The New York Review of Books) DESCRIPTION: Introduced by Neel Mukherjee. Illustrated by James Albon. Quarter-bound in buckram with Modigliani paper sides, printed with a design by the artist. Set in Caslon. 224 pages; frontispiece and 6 colour illustrations. Book size: 9" × 53/4" CONDITION: Book is NEW and SEALED in the publisher’s original SHRINK WRAP (see photos). Photos 1 to 6 are of the actual book that is listed. Whilst photos 7 to 12 are stock photos. Postage will be by Royal Mail Tracked 48 service costing £3.95 All items are sent at cost price whether purchasing a single or multiple items. Due to size, weight and value considerations it is not possible to accurately calculate combined postage automatically. Always feel free to ask or if purchases require immediate payment I will refund any difference. All items must be sent to the address stipulated during the payment process. All items are sent via recorded delivery unless they are of little monetary value. Virtually all my items are available through the global shipping program (GSP) to designated countries outside the UK. Please note I have no control over international postage costs. I do not set these, eBay's GSP does, I send the items to an address in the UK and am not even aware of the country for which they are destined. Items purchased through the GSP must be sent via the GSP shipping centre. Please ask any questions before buying 70PC

Price: 24.99 GBP

Location: Ballymena

End Time: 2025-01-10T19:57:31.000Z

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