Creator
Marilynne Robinson.
Title
Housekeeping.
Coverage
New York
Publisher
Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
Date
1980 [i.e., 1981].
Description
Provenance: Doris Grumbach.
Marilynne Robinson’s first novel, Housekeeping, was published on January 14, 1981. This copy includes some ephemera relating to the handling of that detail. While reviewing this copy of Housekeeping, novelist, editor and critic Doris Grumbach noticed that both the book and its accompanying publication slip misstated the year of publication as 1980. After Grumbach alerted Farrar, Straus & Giroux, their director of publicity sent a reply to Grumbach acknowledging how “that little typo cost FSG quite a bit.”
By the time I acquired this copy, it seemed that Robinson had fallen silent as a novelist; it had been more than two decades since the debut of Housekeeping. Consequently, first editions of Housekeeping were being sold for rather low prices. Although my means as a recently graduated student were very limited, this association copy was just within my reach. Shortly thereafter, in 2004, Farrar, Straus & Giroux published Robinson’s second novel, Gilead, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize—and Housekeeping was rediscovered by readers, book collectors, and booksellers alike.
Marilynne Robinson’s first novel, Housekeeping, was published on January 14, 1981. This copy includes some ephemera relating to the handling of that detail. While reviewing this copy of Housekeeping, novelist, editor and critic Doris Grumbach noticed that both the book and its accompanying publication slip misstated the year of publication as 1980. After Grumbach alerted Farrar, Straus & Giroux, their director of publicity sent a reply to Grumbach acknowledging how “that little typo cost FSG quite a bit.”
By the time I acquired this copy, it seemed that Robinson had fallen silent as a novelist; it had been more than two decades since the debut of Housekeeping. Consequently, first editions of Housekeeping were being sold for rather low prices. Although my means as a recently graduated student were very limited, this association copy was just within my reach. Shortly thereafter, in 2004, Farrar, Straus & Giroux published Robinson’s second novel, Gilead, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize—and Housekeeping was rediscovered by readers, book collectors, and booksellers alike.
Source
Barbara Heritage