New York: Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, 1930. First edition. First printing, with misaligned "I" on page 11. From an initial printing of 2,522 copies, of which this is one of 750 copies of the first issue. Publisher's light tan cloth, lettered in dark brown, brown top stain; in the original light tan dust jacket, lettered in dark brown. A fine copy, with bookseller's plate to the rear pastedown; unclipped dust jacket, pristine and fine. Overall, a bright and extremely attractive copy, free of any repairs or restoration. Rare in such fine condition. Housed in a custom black quarter morocco slipcase with matching chemise.

As I Lay Dying is the Southern Gothic novel that tells the story of the fictional Burden family, who are beset with the difficult task of burying their wife and mother Addie. Like many of his novels, it is set in Jefferson, the seat of the fictional Yoknapatawpha County in Mississippi, based on Faulkner's childhood experiences in Oxford. The plot is told in a stream of consciousness narrative that is dictated by fifteen different characters, including members of the Burden family as well as their friends and neighbors. Interestingly, Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying while working the night shift at a coal-fired power plant. In his 1956 interview with The Paris Review, he claimed, "It was not easy. No honest work is…It took me just about six weeks in the spare time from a twelve-hour-a-day job at manual labor." As I Lay Dying is widely considered one of the best novels of the 20th century. Fine in Fine dust jacket. (Item #1766)