 William Morrow & Company 1st Edition |
William Heinemann Ltd 1st Edition
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William Morrow & Company 1st Edition |
William Heinemann Ltd 1st Edition
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"In Pat Regan's language "beyond the black stump" meant a sort of Never-Never land of extravagant dreams. And to his lovely red-haired daughter Mollie, America was just such a place - a country where everyone lived in penthouses or great white mansions with columns in front and drove about in enormous, powerful automobiles.
America came to the Regans' vast and lonely sheep station in West Australia in the form of an oil prospecting crew from the Topeka Exploration Company. The men brought with them gleaming new machinery, fine precision instruments, an electric ice cream freezer, and glossy magazines filled with dazzling colored pictures. And they also brought a serious young geologist from Oregon, Stanton Laird. If Stan refused the rum which Mollie's father took neat, he responded to Pat's kindness and exuberance. And if the geologist feared to probe too deeply into the tangled marital history of the former barmaid who was Mollie's mother, he respected her warmth and worldly wisdom. In time Stan and Mollie fell in love. They planned to be married and go to America to live where pop-up toasters, automatic washers, and stoves with as many gadgets as stops on an organ made life a continual dream... or so Mollie thought. But Mollie's canny Scots mother didn't believe in being hasty. And so Mollie, still single and equipped with a return ticket went first to visit the Laird family in Hazel, Oregon. It is here, especially, that clashing customs and moralities afford some immensely entertaining passages." |
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This story was developed during a time of research and travel by Nevil Shute in preparing for writing the novel, On the Beach. Shortly after a six-week visit to West Australia, Shute spent three weeks visiting a family in Oregon, where he gathered ideas for both novels. |
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(1) The book's dust jacket cover should match the image shown at the left. (2) Unless the price has been removed by additional clipping after the original purchase, the dust jacket should show the resale price of $3.75 on the upper inside front flap. (3) Although the first edition shows the date 1956 on the copyright page, there is no indication as to what printing it is (such as first printing, first edition, second printing, ect.). (4) The book should show William Morrow and Company consistently as the publisher. (5) The first edition book cover is in green cloth, with yellow printing on the spine. |
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((1) The book's dust jacket cover should match the image shown at the left. (2) A price of 15S is shown on the bottom of inside front flap. (3) The book is in red colored cloth with gold print and a gold star on the spine. (4) The book should show "first published 1956" on the copyright/publication page, with no additional printings shown. (5) The book should indicate that it was printed in Great Britain by The Windmill Press, Kingswood, Surrey. (6) The book should consistently indicate that Heinemann is the publisher. |
| *The collecting tips on the The Nevil Shute Book Page website are only provided as a tool to assist in identifying the original publications of Nevil Shute titles. Several people have generously contributed information and images to enhance its appearance and accuracy, however, please keep in mind that this site will always be a work in progress and have the potential for error. Regardless of the author you collect, I would strongly recommend that consumers/collectors never rely solely on a single source for determining the value or status of their book, including this website. Always seek multiple reliable resources to evaluate your edition. |
