The Black Book (Durrell novel)
Encyclopedia
The Black Book is a novel by Lawrence Durrell
, published in 1938 by the Obelisk Press
. It is set with two competing narrators: Lawrence Lucifer on Corfu
, in Greece, and Death Gregory in London. Faber and Faber
offered to publish the novel in an expurgated edition, but on the advice of Henry Miller, Durrell declined.. It was published in the Villa Seurat Series along with Henry Miller
's Max and the White Phagocytes and Anaïs Nin
's Winter of Artifice
.
Although published in 1938, Durrell wrote the novel primarily over a 16 month period from September 1935 until December 1936. The novel shows several surrealist influences, and these may be in part related to materials from the 1936 London International Surrealist Exhibition
, about which Henry Miller was sending Durrell materials from Herbert Read
.
The initial publication was in Paris as its sexual content prohibited publication at that time in England. It was published in the USA in 1960 but not published in Great Britain until 1973, following the successful courtroom defense of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover
.
In reviewing it in The Observer, Philip Toynbee wrote, "This is a wild, passionate, brilliantly gaudy and flamboyant extravaganza; it is intrinsically and essentially, the book of a young man - Durrell was 24 when he wrote it - richly obscene, energetically morbid, very often very funny indeed, self-pitying, but, above all, stylistically and verbally inventive as no other young man's novel of the period was even attempting to be."
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
, published in 1938 by the Obelisk Press
Obelisk Press
Obelisk Press was an English language press based in Paris, France, which was founded by Jack Kahane in 1929.Kahane, a novelist, began the Obelisk Press after his publisher, Grant Richards, went bankrupt. Going into partnership with a printer, Kahane, as Cecil Barr, published his next novel...
. It is set with two competing narrators: Lawrence Lucifer on Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, in Greece, and Death Gregory in London. Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
offered to publish the novel in an expurgated edition, but on the advice of Henry Miller, Durrell declined.. It was published in the Villa Seurat Series along with Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
's Max and the White Phagocytes and Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin was a French-Cuban author, based at first in France and later in the United States, who published her journals, which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death, her erotic literature, and short stories...
's Winter of Artifice
Winter of Artifice
Winter of Artifice, published in 1939, is Anaïs Nin's second published book, containing subsequently alternating novelettes.-1939 Edition:...
.
Although published in 1938, Durrell wrote the novel primarily over a 16 month period from September 1935 until December 1936. The novel shows several surrealist influences, and these may be in part related to materials from the 1936 London International Surrealist Exhibition
London International Surrealist Exhibition
The International Surrealist Exhibition was held from 11 June to 4 July 1936 at the New Burlington Galleries in London, England.The exhibition was organised by:* Hugh Sykes Davies* David Gascoyne* Humphrey Jennings* Rupert Lee* Diana Brinton Lee...
, about which Henry Miller was sending Durrell materials from Herbert Read
Herbert Read
Sir Herbert Edward Read, DSO, MC was an English anarchist, poet, and critic of literature and art. He was one of the earliest English writers to take notice of existentialism, and was strongly influenced by proto-existentialist thinker Max Stirner....
.
The initial publication was in Paris as its sexual content prohibited publication at that time in England. It was published in the USA in 1960 but not published in Great Britain until 1973, following the successful courtroom defense of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1928. The first edition was printed privately in Florence, Italy with assistance from Pino Orioli; it could not be published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960...
.
In reviewing it in The Observer, Philip Toynbee wrote, "This is a wild, passionate, brilliantly gaudy and flamboyant extravaganza; it is intrinsically and essentially, the book of a young man - Durrell was 24 when he wrote it - richly obscene, energetically morbid, very often very funny indeed, self-pitying, but, above all, stylistically and verbally inventive as no other young man's novel of the period was even attempting to be."
External links
- The International Lawrence Durrell Society Official website of ILDS
- Durrell 2012: The Lawrence Durrell Centenary Centenary event website and Durrell Journal
- The Durrell School of Corfu School dedicated to the works and lives Lawrence and Gerald Durrell