WHERE THE SEA REMEMBERS

Hanley, James (1897–1985)

The Closed Harbor [First American Edition]

New York: Horizon Press, 1953. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket.

A MAN SEEKING REDEMPTION IN A PORT THAT WILL NOT FORGET.
James Hanley's powerful postwar novel follows Eugène Marius, a veteran sea captain who arrives in Marseille hoping to rebuild his life after the Second World War. Haunted by the loss of two ships and burdened by reputation and memory, Marius confronts isolation, guilt, and the struggle to reclaim purpose in one of Hanley's most psychologically compelling maritime novels.

Written with Hanley's characteristic economy and emotional depth, The Closed Harbor combines the atmosphere of a great seaport with an intimate exploration of conscience, identity, and the lingering consequences of war.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Octavo. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt spine lettering. In the original unclipped dust jacket priced $3.50. 8.25 inches tall; 315 pages.

CONDITION: Very Good in a Good Dust Jacket. The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean with light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf handling wear. The Mylar-protected dust jacket retains the original $3.50 price, is evenly age-toned, and shows light edge wear.

LITERARY SIGNIFICANCE: A Master of the Maritime Novel —
 James Hanley ranks among the finest twentieth-century British novelists of the sea. Drawing upon his own years as a merchant seaman, he wrote fiction distinguished by psychological intensity, moral complexity, and an unvarnished portrayal of working lives. Although admired by writers and critics, his work has long remained less widely known than that of many contemporaries. 

The Closed Harbor, first published in Britain in 1952 and issued in this first American edition the following year, represents Hanley's mature style at its most restrained and compelling, exploring themes of memory, exile, and redemption through the lives of those shaped by the sea.

Subjects: James Hanley, Maritime Literature, Sea Fiction, British Novel, Marseille, Postwar Fiction, Psychological Fiction, First American Edition, Literary Fiction, Maritime Fiction, British Literature, Postwar Fiction.

Item #22260

Price: $35.00