sow the thought seeds

<rule of thumb>  

The Stepford Wives ~ Ira Levin

Brief blurb: Levin's classic about creepy hausfraus introduced by film director, Bryan Forbes.

 

What's it all about? Written at the heyday of Women's Lib, The Stepford Wives is a tale of two sites. The site of male anxiety, circa 1972, fanned by tabloid tales of bra burning and the de-feminisation of women, becomes in Levin’s literary suburbia, the sinister Male Association with its plot to transform every housewife into a compliant, busty page 3 stunner.

The site of female paranoia is personified by new-to-town Joanna Eberhart, who, as a feminist and photographer, sees The Stepford Wives for what they are: ‘they work like robots all their lives’. ‘Stepford is out of step,’ she complains. In an age of new men and female MPs, it seems remarkably unsubtle. But, at the time, the Women's Liberation Movement protested violently against the film (director Forbes was even struck with an umbrella). And Diane Keaton got such ‘bad vibes’ from the script she turned down the leading role, which eventually went to Katherine Ross. Perhaps even harder to digest is that the film never made it to general release in the UK. It did, of course, become a cult classic, so familiar, in fact, the title itself is now an everyday part of language.

Rule of Thumb: Thumbs up! – a real page-turner 

 

<rule of thumb>  

The Stepford Wives ~ Ira Levin

Brief blurb: Levin's classic about creepy hausfraus introduced by film director, Bryan Forbes.

 

What's it all about? Written at the heyday of Women's Lib, The Stepford Wives is a tale of two sites. The site of male anxiety, circa 1972, fanned by tabloid tales of bra burning and the de-feminisation of women, becomes in Levin’s literary suburbia, the sinister Male Association with its plot to transform every housewife into a compliant, busty page 3 stunner.

The site of female paranoia is personified by new-to-town Joanna Eberhart, who, as a feminist and photographer, sees The Stepford Wives for what they are: ‘they work like robots all their lives’. ‘Stepford is out of step,’ she complains. In an age of new men and female MPs, it seems remarkably unsubtle. But, at the time, the Women's Liberation Movement protested violently against the film (director Forbes was even struck with an umbrella). And Diane Keaton got such ‘bad vibes’ from the script she turned down the leading role, which eventually went to Katherine Ross. Perhaps even harder to digest is that the film never made it to general release in the UK. It did, of course, become a cult classic, so familiar, in fact, the title itself is now an everyday part of language.

Rule of Thumb: Thumbs up! – a real page-turner 

 

<guide to grades>

The following is the system I use for grading books ~

Mint ~ New or as new, clearly unread, no tanning to pages, no creasing to spine or cover, no marks or inscriptions. This is the condition you would expect to find in a high street bookstore or on mail-order.

Excellent ~ The book appears to be in fine condition. A closer look reveals some signs of previous ownership, such as shelf-rubbing and in some cases an inscription. Yet on the whole, the book is perfect.

Very Good + ~ Less than excellent condition with no more than mild tanning or foxing to pages, minor creasing to spine or cover, possible shop sticker/pencilled price or previous owner name, but no other marks or inscriptions. This is still a tight and bright copy.

Very Good ~ The book shows clear signs of previous ownership / shelf wear. There may be some tanning / foxing to pages, slight creases to spine or cover, inscriptions from previous owner (typically their name or words of presentation).

Good + ~ The book cover and contents may have faded in colour and there may be creases, wear and inscriptions. However the book is still intact and readable and there is no loosening to spine or pages.

Good ~ This is an acceptable reading copy and there may be several of the reported problems above as associated with age and/or mishandling.

Poor ~ A book such as this is sent to auction for reasons such as the edition's rarity. This will probably not make an acceptable reading copy, and is more likely to have value in relation to its collectable status.

N.B. where a double grading is given, the latter refers to the dust-jacket, wrapper or cover

This grading guide is updated monthly to save you scrolling through archives. 

<bespoke packaging>

To protect your purchase, books are secured in thick bespoke corrugated card sleeve and a bubblewrap inner to stop the book bouncing in the card packet.  Standard paperbacks are shipped in a bespoke envelope (trimmed to fit the book snugly), bubblewrap and corrugated card stiffener.

<cover story>

Recognise this month's cover fragment?  It's taken from the 2000 reprint of the 1995 Penguin Classic edition of the Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness.   The cover image is from a photograph by English artist Marc Atkins.  The image is courtesy the Panoptika library and other work by the artist can be viewed at www.marcatkins.com

the edition

.     vintage  ….       ..                 <

This issue << SOS Book Rescue >> <<Book care tips>>

+       Regular Features and Reviews

IMPORTANT

<<navigation>>

pages may not all load together straight away   -----

to view all pages go to Blog Archives and repeat click Month

 Recognise the month's cover fragment? All is revealed in Cover Story, p12

<in this issue>

<in this issue>

02 <foreword>

03 <book worm> book artist Damon Herd

04 <thematic>

05 <briefing: book trends> steampunk

06 <feature story> SOS: Book Rescue 

07 <gift wrap service>

08<rule of thumb> the adventures of dougal

09<rule of thumb> the stepford wives

10 <guide to grades>

11 <bespoke wrapping>

12 <cover story>

13 <browser endnotes>

<<navigation>>

to view all pages go to Blog Archives and repeat click Month

The Edition has been on a summer break, of sorts, while the technicians sorted a few glitches out.  Sorry about that.  Effectively, the last issue became a June/July double.  I'm crossing my fingers, as I type, that there will be discreet issues for August, September, and so on.  And right there's my excuse for any spelling mistakes.

This month the vintage theme casts a net over old books ranging from antiquarian fine bindings to rare pulps and comics.  The emphasis is on collectability, so the subject matter includes fiction and non-fiction.

<book worm: art transplant

Book artist Damon Herd has certainly put his heart into this interpretation of Mikhail Bulgakov's Heart of a Dog, about the humanisation of a dog following a cross-species gland transplant.

'Four years ago I underwent heart surgery to replace a defective heart valve with a mechanical one made from carbon,' explains the artist.  'This new valve makes a ticking noise as it opens and closes -- as a result I am constantly aware of my heart.'

Herd consiously deployed hybrid styles and processes when stitching together his illustrated edition of the novel.  One chapter uses coloured paper and typography to look like medical notes, while the fur jacket conceals the image of the artist's own operation scar.