THE SEA CALLS HIM BACK

Hanley, James (1897–1985)

Levine [Postwar Britain]

London: Macdonald & Co., 1956.

A SAILOR SURVIVES THE SEA — BUT CANNOT ESCAPE ITS HOLD.
Hanley's postwar novel follows Felix Levine, a stateless sailor washed ashore in England after his ship sinks. Sent to a refugee camp and later living alone in a northern town, Levine attempts a life ashore but remains psychologically bound to the sea. His relationship with Grace Helling, herself displaced after losing her parents in a London air raid, brings together two people marked by war, isolation, and loss.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: FIRST EDITION IN DUST JACKET.
Blue cloth hardcover, spine ruled and lettered in gilt. 7.75 inches; 253 pages. Original pictorial dust jacket printed in pale blue, rust-red, black, and white, with a stylized figure and seabirds to the front panel. Dust jacket retains the publisher's 15/- net price on the front flap. First Edition, First Printing.

CONDITION: NEAR FINE IN A VERY GOOD DUST JACKET.
The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean; light, even age-toning. Minimal Shelf handling. Dust jacket shows light handling and edge wear, with small chips and short closed tears at the spine ends and corners, most noticeable at the upper rear corner and lower spine area. Front-panel colors remain strong. Unclipped, retaining the 15/- net price.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: HANLEY'S OUTSIDER AT THE WATER'S EDGE.
James Hanley's own experience at sea became a recurring foundation of his fiction, but his maritime writing frequently uses the sailor's life to explore displacement, isolation, and people living outside conventional society. Modern assessments of Hanley's work specifically identify Levine with his intense treatment of alienation and disengagement.

SUBJECTS: James Hanley, Sailors, Maritime Life, Postwar Britain, Refugees, Displacement, Alienation, British Literature, Modern First Editions, Maritime Fiction, Postwar Fiction, Literary Fiction, Irish Literature, Sea Fiction.

Item #22482

Price: $45.00