THE COST OF AMBITION AND SELF-DECEPTION

Parrish, Anne

All Kneeling [Psychological Fiction] [Book to Film]

New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL NOVEL OF AMBITION, SUCCESS, AND THE WEIGHT OF CONSCIENCE.
Anne Parrish’s All Kneeling is a penetrating study of ambition, guilt, and moral compromise. Through the story of a successful writer whose achievements are shadowed by the consequences of past decisions, Parrish explores the tension between outward success and private turmoil.

Known for her sensitive portrayals of emotional conflict and social expectations, Parrish examines the complicated choices faced by women navigating independence, reputation, and personal fulfillment during the early twentieth century. The novel presents a thoughtful psychological portrait of a character caught between achievement and remorse.

A BOOK OF THE MONTH CLUB SELECTION AND FILM ADAPTATION
Selected by the American Booksellers Association as a Book of the Month selection for September, this copy retains the original red wraparound band and accompanying green bookmark promoting the selection.

The novel was later adapted for film as Born to Be Bad (1950), directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Joan Fontaine, bringing Parrish’s exploration of ambition and moral conflict to a wider audience.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Octavo, 7.75 inches tall. Publisher’s black cloth binding with red lettering to spine and upper cover. Top edge stained red. Decorated endpapers. Original dust jacket priced $2.50. [6], 322, [2] pages. First Edition, First Printing, with Harper code G-C.

Includes original American Booksellers Association red wraparound band indicating Book of the Month selection for September, with accompanying green promotional bookmark.

CONDITION: Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean with light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf handling wear. The dust jacket is age-toned with minor chips at extremities and a large closed tear at the top front panel Jacket remains complete and presents well with original pricing intact.

LITERARY SIGNIFICANCE — WOMEN, AMBITION, AND MORAL CONFLICT.
 Anne Parrish was recognized for her perceptive examinations of relationships, social expectations, and the emotional lives of women in early twentieth-century America. All Kneeling reflects the period’s growing interest in psychological fiction and the complex consequences of personal ambition.

The novel belongs to a tradition of literary works exploring the conflict between public success and private conscience, offering a nuanced portrait of a woman confronting the moral cost of the choices that shaped her life.

SUBJECTS: Anne Parrish, Female Protagonists, Ambition, Guilt and Conscience, Moral Conflict, Social Expectations, Women Writers, Psychological Fiction, Book of the Month Club, Film Adaptations, Nicholas Ray, Psychological Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Social Fiction, American Literature, 20th-Century Fiction.

REFERENCE: Dark Page Johnson 158

Item #19902

Price: $265.00