House on the Strand – Du Maurier 1st Ed 1969

📖 The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier (1969, Doubleday & Company) — a Gothic time-travel novel set on the Cornwall coast, where an experimental drug sends a man’s consciousness back to the 14th century. This is the first American trade edition, with original dust jacket and map endpapers.

QUICK FACTS

• Author: Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989)
• Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York
• Year: 1969 (First American Edition)
• Format: Hardcover in dust jacket
• Pages: 298 | ISBN: None (pre-ISBN era)
• Condition: Book: Very Good / Jacket: VG-/VG — full report below

THE STORY

Set in du Maurier’s beloved Cornwall, the novel follows a man who takes an experimental drug to project his consciousness back to the 14th century. There he becomes an invisible observer to a tangle of Cornish families — the Champernoune, the Kylmerth — caught up in medieval power struggles, poisoning, and passion. As the drug’s effects intensify, the boundary between past and present blurs, and his obsessive immersion in history threatens to consume him entirely.

Du Maurier’s final novel published during her lifetime, The House on the Strand draws directly from her home at Kilmarth, near Tywardreath, where she lived from 1967 until her death. The novel merges her deep knowledge of Cornish medieval history with a psychologically charged exploration of addiction, consciousness, and the seductive pull of the past.

THIS EDITION

This is the first American trade edition, published by Doubleday in 1969 — the same year the novel appeared in the UK under Victor Gollancz (with a jacket illustration by du Maurier’s daughter, Flavia Tower). The dust jacket is unclipped with the original $5.95 price intact on the front flap, and carries the code “T.H.O.T.S.” — Doubleday’s indicator for first printing. The copyright page shows Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 74-78693. The dedication reads “For my predecessors at Kilmarth.”

COVER ART & DESIGN

The dust jacket features a moody, atmospheric painting by Ingrid Beckman with typography by Diane Whitebay. The front cover uses a color gradient — pale cream transitioning to warm sandy brown — with a thin reddish-pink dividing line and bold black serif typography. The back cover displays a striking black-and-white photograph of du Maurier by Tom Blau: the author seated at a desk, chin resting on her hand, gazing thoughtfully to the side.

The map endpapers are a highlight of this copy — a hand-drawn style map of the Cornwall coast showing St. Austell, Tywardreath, Par Sands, Fowey, and other locations central to the novel, with arrows pointing to Menabilly Barton (the real house that inspired Manderley in Rebecca) and “To Bodrugan across the bay.” These endpapers are clean and intact.

WHY IT MATTERS

• Du Maurier’s final published novel during her lifetime — her last major statement as a novelist before her death in 1989
• Set at and inspired by Kilmarth, du Maurier’s actual home in Cornwall, where she conducted extensive research into the medieval families of the region
• The map endpapers depict the real geography of the novel — Tywardreath Priory, Menabilly, and the Fowey estuary — locations du MAurier walked and lived among
• Blends gothic atmosphere, psychological suspense, and historical fiction — a structurally ambitious work that remains underappreciated compared to Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? First American trade edition (Doubleday, 1969). The UK first edition was published the same year by Victor Gollancz.

What condition is it in? Book: Very Good / Jacket: Very Good-/Very Good. Unclipped with original price. Full condition report below.

Is it signed? This copy is not signed.

FOR COLLECTORS

First American editions with unclipped dust jackets in this condition are becoming scarce. The map endpapers — clean, unfaded, and intact — are a key collector feature, and this copy’s overall condition (tight binding, crisp text block, unfaded spine) places it at the higher end of available firsts. A strong addition to any du Maurier collection.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Book: Very Good (VG) / Jacket: Very Good-/Very Good (VG-/VG)

Cover & Spine: Black cloth spine features vibrant, unrubbed gilt lettering, mildly bumped head and tail. The brown paper boards are clean and solid with sharp corners. Minor rubbing to extremities.

Dust Jacket: Unclipped with original $5.95 price intact. Displays light shelf-wear along the edges, including a tiny closed tear and associated light creasing at the bottom right corner of the front panel. Spine panel is exceptionally clean and unfaded.

Text Block & Pages: Clean and crisp throughout. Text block edges are lightly age-toned to a uniform cream/light wood-color, completely free of foxing or marking. Map endpapers are clean and intact.

Binding: Tight, square, and structurally sound.

See accompanying images for full condition details.

Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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