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Jean Genet
Cover of Funeral Rites, Castle Books, 1969
Arbery Books catalogue
November 2014
Jean Genet
(born Paris 19 December 1910, died Paris 15 April 1986) was a prolific and
prominent and controversial novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his
life he was a petty criminal, Foreign Legionnaire and vagabond. Repeated convictions led to the
threat of a life sentence, but a petition to the French president by Jean Cocteau, Jean-Paul Sartre,
Pablo Picasso and others set him free, after which Genet never returned to prison.
Two major themes, often interlinked, ran through his work: homosexual eroticism and
admiration for criminality. Several of his books, including Our Lady of the Flowers and The Thief’s
Journal are semi-fictionalised autobiographies, while his plays repeatedly challenged
contemporary theatrical, moral and racial conventions.
Arbery Books (established 2009) specialises in publications and ephemera of gay, lesbian and
transgender interest. Other interests include sexuality and sado-masochism; pre-1900 curiosities,
erotica and sexuality; and early science fiction and fantasy. We are based in Edinburgh and
primarily sell online; a selection of our stock can be seen on www.arberybooks.co.uk. Browsers
are welcome by appointment.
The first section of this catalogue comprises books by Genet in alphabetical order, ignoring A,
The, La/Le/Les; the second section comprises books about Genet and / or his works.
We try to give a comprehensive description of the condition of our titles but note that pictures
may not reflect exact colour, book measurements and page numbers are approximate, and minor
defects may not be recorded. Further photographs of all titles can be provided on request.
Prices include free postage and packing in the UK. Contact us for rates abroad.
[contact@]arberybooks.co.uk
+44 798 965 5482
Jean Genet
Arbery Books November 2014
Le Balcon
Pièce de théâtre qui se déroule dans le bordel d'une ville pendant une révolte. Tour à tour
l'évêque, le juge, le général, se livrent leurs perversions secrètes.
1960
Marc Barbezat, Décines (Isère)
£ 10
19.8cm * 14.4cm, 245pp
ref 2104
Cover in mylar. Erased pencil notes on flyleaf. About a dozen pages and back cover have two
small indentations.
The Blacks: A Clown Show
(see also Les Nègres below)
“One evening an actor asked me to write a play for an all-black cast. But what exactly is a
black? First of all, what’s his colour?” Translated by Bernard Frechtman.
1960
Faber and Faber, London
£6
1st UK 21cm * 12.3cm, 96pp
ref 2109
ed.
Jacket (in protective wrapping): unclipped; slight wear to edges; back discoloured. Boards
black with gilt lettering. Endpaper: owner's name "Linda Banyard"; Foyle's sticker. Pages
beginning to tan.
Un captif amoureux
(see also Prisoner of Love below)
Avec une ironie constante et une irréductible indépendance de pensée et d'esprit, Un captif
amoureux retrace ses séjours dans les camps palestiniens de Jordanie et du Liban entre
1970 et 1984.
19 86
1st ed.
Gallimard / Club Express, Paris
£8
21cm * 14.4cm, 504pp
ref 992
Jacket: edges and folds worn; stained (apparent only from inside). Boards (orange with
offwhite lettering): wear and fading to edges and curving of corners. Page edges dusty and
stained. Pages clean.
Funeral Rites (Pompes Funèbres)
Eulogy for Jean Decarnin, killed at the age of twenty by the bullet of a young collaborator,
on August 19, 1944 during the street-fighting in Paris shortly before the Allied Liberation.
“Bernard Frechtman had completed the first draft and first revisions of this translation at
the time of his death. The final editing and verification of the text was completed by Helen
R. Lane.”
1969
Castle, (probably Secaucus, New Jersey)
£ 10
21.3cm * 14.3cm, 256pp
ref 2110
Jacket: unclipped; some scoring and discolouring; small pieces missing from back edge and
spine. Boards (yellowish with black lettering): edges sharp: small mark. Page edges: dusty
and small spotting. Flyleaves: short pencil notes.
1973
Faber and Faber, London
£ 10
22.2cm * 14.3cm, 256pp
ref 2063
Jacket (unclipped): slight soiling, particularly of back. Endpaper: ex libris. Page edges
dusty. Flyleaf: short pencil note.
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Jean Genet
Arbery Books November 2014
Miracle of the Rose (Miracle de la Rose)
Genet's second, semi-autobiographical novel, describing his experiences in juvenile
detention and adult prison. First published in 1946, revised in 1951. Translation by Bernard
Frechtman.
1966
Castle Books, (probably Secaucus, New Jersey)
£8
21.3cm * 14.6cm, 344pp
ref 2106
Jacket: unclipped: slight wear / rubbing, discolouring and creasing at top of spine. Boards
(yellow with black lettering): edges and corners sharp but top of spine dented. Short pencil
note on flyleaf. Pages tanning very slightly.
Les Nègres
(see also The Blacks above)
“Un soir, un comédien me demanda d’écrire une pièce qui serait jouée par des Noirs. Mais,
que’est-ce que c’est donc un Noir? Et d’abord, c’est de quelle couleur?” First published in
1948 and first performed in 1959.
19 80
Folio / Marc Barbezat / L’Arbaléte, Paris (paperback)
£5
17.7cm * 10.8cm, 123pp
ref 2124
Cover: slight wear and curling to edges; discoloured, back less so. Spine unbroken. Flyleaf:
small piece cut off and short pencil note. Pages tanning but clean.
2 10 4
2 10 9
992
2 110
2063
2 10 6
2 12 4
2 10 7
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Jean Genet
Arbery Books November 2014
Our Lady of the Flowers (Notre-Dame-des-Fleurs)
Genet's first novel, a largely autobiographical account of a man's journey through the
Parisian criminal and homosexual underworld first published in 1943, with a revised edition
in 1949 (or 1944 and 1951 respectively). The first English version appeared in Paris in 1949.
The editions below use the Grove Press translation from 1963; the translator was later
identified as Bernard Frechtman. The introduction by Jean-Paul Sartre was first published in
1952 in Sartre’s Saint Genet, comédien et martyr.
(1963)
Castle, (probably Secaucus, New Jersey)
£ 10
21.3cm * 14.7cm, 318pp
ref 2107
Jacket: unclipped; slight wear, nicking and small tear to edges; discolouring, particularly at
spine. Boards (yellowish with black lettering): edges sharp; two corners bumped. Page
edges: slightly soiled. Pencil notes on front and rear endpapers / flyleaves. Pages clean.
1968
Panther, London (paperback)
£5
17.7cm * 11cm, 284pp
ref 2105
Cover: very slight wear to edges; spine discoloured, back less so. Owner's name (“Anne
Philip, St Aidan’s College”) on pre-title page. Pages tanning but clean.
Les Paravents
(see also The Screens below)
Pièce se déroulant pendant la guerre d'Algérie. Genet y dresse un portrait au vitriol de
l'armée. Written in 1961 and first performed in 1966.
1991
£6
Folio / Marc Barbezat / L’Arbaléte, Paris (paperback)
17.7cm * 10.8cm, 276pp
Pages and edges of cover tanning but spine unbroken and apparently unread.
ref 2056
Querelle of Brest (Querelle de Brest)
Querelle, a handsome young sailor, is coveted by both his superior officer and a pimp, while
he longs for the wife of the pimp. Translation by Geoffrey Streatham
1966
£ 10
Anthony Blond, London
1st UK 22.2cm * 14.7cm, 320pp
ref 2108
ed.
[Jacket (in protective wrapping): unclipped; slight wear to edges, short tear. Boards (blue
with silver lettering): edges sharp; very slight fading at top. Endpaper: small brown spot.
Flyleaf: short pencil note.
£7.50
ANOTHER COPY – Jacket not in protective wrapping and less well preserved
2 10 5
arberybooks.co.uk
2056
2 12 5
[email protected]
2 10 8
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Jean Genet
Arbery Books November 2014
Prisoner of Love
(see also Un captif amoureux above)
Published after Genet’s death, a memoir of the writer’s encounters with Black Panthers and
Palestinian guerrillas. Translated by Barbara Bray; introduced by Edmund White.
1989
£8
Pan / Picador, London
1st UK 23.9cm * 15.6cm, 375pp
ed.
Pages tanning and erased pencil note on flyleaf, but otherwise book and jacket as new.
The Selected Writings of Jean Genet
ref 2108
(edited by Edmund White)
Includes fiction, poetry, theatre, essays, memoirs, letters and two interviews.
1993
1st ed.
£ 15
Ecco, Hopewell, New Jersey
24cm * 16.2cm, 462pp
Slight creasing to foot of back of jacket. Otherwise as new.
The Screens
ref 2061
(see also Les Paravents above)
Written and set during the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), the play has been
performed in several versions. Its complicated theme, with dozens of characters, includes
abjection, humiliation and death. Translated by Bernard Frechtman.
1991
£8
Faber and Faber, London
20.5cm * 12.7cm, 176pp
Pages and edges of cover tanning but spine unbroken and apparently unread.
The Thief’s Journal
ref 2123
(Journal du voleur)
Genet’s semi-fictionalised life in the 1930s as a thief and vagabond across Europe.
1954
Olympia Press, Paris (paperback)
£ 12
17.7cm * 11.2cm, 291pp
ref 1905
Cover: slight wear to edges; spine severely discoloured and worn along edges; faint stain on back.
Front endpapers: erased pencil note. Pages clean.
Funeral Rites / Miracle of the Rose / Our Lady of the Flowers / Querelle of Brest /
The Thief’s Journal
1969 / 1965 / 1964 / 1966 / 1965
collection of 1st UK editions (publ Anthony Blond): various defects to jackets and books
£ 25
ref 2125a
2061
arberybooks.co.uk
2 12 3
19 0 5
[email protected]
2125a
+ 44 798 965 5482
Jean Genet
Arbery Books November 2014
The Cinema of Jean Genet: Un Chant d’amour
Jane Giles
“This account of the previously undocumented production context and controversial
exhibition histories supplies a shot-by-shot description of [the film’s] sexy, poetic content
and situates [it] in Genet’s œuvre.”
1991
1st ed.
BFI Publishing, London
20.9cm * 14.6cm, 89pp
Includes sexually explicit stills from the film. Sticker on back. Book appears unread.
Genet
£5
ref 2096
Edmund White
with a chronology by Albery Dichy
(signed by Edmund White)
“Edmund White’s authoritative and enthralling biography of Genet is the first full-scale
account of the writer to appear in any language. He explores the perverse extremes of
Genet’s life and writing and separates the fact from the mythology which was fostered by
Genet himself.”
1993
1st ed.
Chatto and Windus, London
£ 20
24cm * 16.5cm, 820pp
ref 2060
Slight marking of page edges; otherwise as new. Signature reads "Edmund White 17 May
1997 Edinburgh".
£ 10
ANOTHER COPY, UNSIGNED
Jean Genet
Bettina Liebowitz Knapp
“an analysis that is both comprehensible and comprehensive . . . a systematic and
meaningful critique of a literary genius whose work does not easily lend itself to
arrangement and classification”
1968
1st ed.
St Martin’s Press, New York (paperback)
£6
20.9cm * 13.5cm, 172pp
ref 2093
Cover: very slight wear to edges and very slight discolouring. Small marks on page edges.
Erased pencil note on half-title; very small mark on title page. Pages otherwise clean.
Jean Genet: A Critical Appraisal
Philip Thody
“attempts to establish the relevance of Genet’s ideas to his skill as a writer . . . discusses the
philosophical significance of an author who has admitted to devoting his art to the
exaltation of evil”
1968
1st ed.
Hamish Hamilton, London
22.1cm * 14.4cm, 261pp
Jacket priceclipped, small tear, some rubbing and wear at edges. Flyleaf marked.
Jean Genet: Born To Lose
£6
ref 2062
Jeremy Reed
“a book written with profound empathy for [its] subject . . . the whole complex
psychological makeup of a rebel born to lose, but in the process exploding into inimitably
iconoclastic fiction”
20 05
1st ed.
Creation Books (paperback)
23.3cm * 15cm, 214pp
Some creasing to back cover but otherwise as new.
arberybooks.co.uk
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£8
ref 2064
+ 44 798 965 5482
Jean Genet
Arbery Books November 2014
Jean Genet in Tangier
Mohamed Choukri
translated by Paul Bowles
introduction by William S Burroughs
“not only an unexpected view of the highly secretive Frenchman, but also a fascinating
picture of café life in [Tangier]”
1968
1st ed.
Ecco, New York
£ 15
22cm * 13.6cm, 76pp
ref 2072
[with 4 black and white photos] Jacket: unclipped; slight wear of edges; back discoloured / soiled.
Boards (orange with gilt lettering): very small marks, very small dent. Page edges dusty. Endpaper:
ex libris, pencil note.
Looking for Genet: Literary Essays & Reviews
Alfred Chester
15-page essay on Genet in a volume that comprises reviews by Chester of Nabokov’s Pale
Fire, Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, McCarthy’s The Group
and Capote’s In Cold Blood and other books, plus a selection of columns and essays.
1992
1st ed.
£12.50
Black Sparrow Press, Santa Rosa, California
22.7cm * 14.8cm, 262pp
Price sticker on back; slight discolouring of spine; slight soiling of page edges.
2060
20 9 6
2064
arberybooks.co.uk
2062
209 3
2072
[email protected]
ref 2103
2 10 3
+ 44 798 965 5482