Folio Archives 251: A Passage to India by E. M. Forster 1983 & 2008
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1wcarter
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster 1983 & 2008
The Folio Society has published three very different editions of Forster’s great adventure novel. The first was in 1983, then as part of a six volume set in 1996. This latter edition was then re-issued in a different binding in 2008, but with the same content. I own the first and last editions.
Written in 1924, Forster tells the story of a young woman and her elderly companion who travel to a remote Indian town when the British Raj was at its height. The women feel trapped in the Anglo-Indian community in which find themselves enveloped, and set off on an adventure to see the real India with a Muslim doctor as their guide. Things do not proceed as smoothly as the women and their guide expect, and thereby hangs the tale!
The book gives a realistic view of life in The Raj from both the Indian and Anglo points of view, while telling a thrilling fictional story.
1983 Edition
This first edition has 304 pages, is introduced by Michael Holroyd and has eleven leaves of two-colour lithographs by Ian Ribbons bound in. The binding is pale brown cloth blocked with a wrap-around illustration in brown by Ribbons. It has pale brown endleaves, the page tops are stained brown and the pale yellow-brown slipcase measures 23.5x14.9cm.
. . . . 
2008 Edition
The rebound second edition has no introduction and 292 pages. There are nine full page colour lithographs by Glynn Boyd Harte. It is three-quarter bound in purple cloth with a paper cover printed with a two-tone photo. The endpapers and slipcase (25x17cm.) are both plain purple.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
The Folio Society has published three very different editions of Forster’s great adventure novel. The first was in 1983, then as part of a six volume set in 1996. This latter edition was then re-issued in a different binding in 2008, but with the same content. I own the first and last editions.
Written in 1924, Forster tells the story of a young woman and her elderly companion who travel to a remote Indian town when the British Raj was at its height. The women feel trapped in the Anglo-Indian community in which find themselves enveloped, and set off on an adventure to see the real India with a Muslim doctor as their guide. Things do not proceed as smoothly as the women and their guide expect, and thereby hangs the tale!
The book gives a realistic view of life in The Raj from both the Indian and Anglo points of view, while telling a thrilling fictional story.
1983 Edition
This first edition has 304 pages, is introduced by Michael Holroyd and has eleven leaves of two-colour lithographs by Ian Ribbons bound in. The binding is pale brown cloth blocked with a wrap-around illustration in brown by Ribbons. It has pale brown endleaves, the page tops are stained brown and the pale yellow-brown slipcase measures 23.5x14.9cm.
. . . . 
2008 Edition
The rebound second edition has no introduction and 292 pages. There are nine full page colour lithographs by Glynn Boyd Harte. It is three-quarter bound in purple cloth with a paper cover printed with a two-tone photo. The endpapers and slipcase (25x17cm.) are both plain purple.
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
2elenchus
Profoundly different binding and illustration for the two editions pictured. It's good to see them side-by-side, as it were.
I've read thus far only short stories from Forster, but was deeply impressed. I wonder if any of the same themes are smuggled into his novels, though I've not heard they do (the novels dealing with very different concerns, or so it seems based on common description). Still I'm intrigued enough that were I to come across a used copy, I'll be motivated to pick it up. The 1996 set would be too much to ask for, I'm sure! Still, I'll keep an eye out for it.
I've read thus far only short stories from Forster, but was deeply impressed. I wonder if any of the same themes are smuggled into his novels, though I've not heard they do (the novels dealing with very different concerns, or so it seems based on common description). Still I'm intrigued enough that were I to come across a used copy, I'll be motivated to pick it up. The 1996 set would be too much to ask for, I'm sure! Still, I'll keep an eye out for it.
3wdripp
I own the 1996 set and that edition of A Passage to India appears identical to the stand alone 2008 edition with the exception of the binding and the paper used.
>2 elenchus: I really enjoy his novels, and the boxed set isn't terribly expensive on the secondary market. There's a copy on ABE right now for $125 which appears to be in very good condition.
>2 elenchus: I really enjoy his novels, and the boxed set isn't terribly expensive on the secondary market. There's a copy on ABE right now for $125 which appears to be in very good condition.
4Hamwick
One of my favourite authors, along with D.H. Lawrence. Their commentaries on the working class and society always makes me think and ponder. I link Thomas Hardy with them as well, although I always found Hardy’s stories a bit too depressing. Poets and Novelists, I read once that they considered themselves poets first and novelists second (at least Lawrence and Hardy did).
Thank you as always for these posts showing the Folio versions.
Thank you as always for these posts showing the Folio versions.
