Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Apr 25, 2024

First editions annotated by Le Carré and Mantel to be auctioned

First editions annotated by Le Carré and Mantel to be auctioned

Other writers who have added handwritten thoughts for sale in support of English PEN include Ian McEwan and Margaret Atwood

An extraordinary insight into some of the literary masterpieces of recent decades has been provided by their authors in handwritten annotations in first editions of their works.

Among more than 80 writers who have reread and commented on their works are Margaret Atwood, Hilary Mantel, Salman Rushdie, Monica Ali, John le Carré, Sebastian Faulks, Ben Okri, Ian McEwan, JM Coetzee, Peter Carey and Bernardine Evaristo.

A number of renowned artists including Tracey Emin, Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Ai Weiwei have also contributed works to a sale to raise funds for English PEN, a human rights organisation that champions freedom of expression and defends writers at risk of persecution.

The annotations were “personal, profound, insightful and frequently surprising, adding a unique layer of intimacy to some of the most celebrated texts published in our lifetime”, said Mark Wiltshire, a books and manuscripts specialist at Christie’s.

The auction house is selling the works, under the title First Editions, Second Thoughts, and hosting an exhibition of selected lots.

Mantel, who twice won the Booker prize with her Wolf Hall trilogy, has scribbled about 5,000 words of notes in margins and blank spaces in Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light.

Monica Ali questions a line in her novel Brick Lane.


Speaking about the exercise, she said: “A special kind of memory comes into play – how you were when such a phrase arrived, where you were: the way the light fell in the room … Sentences struggle and twist again under your hand. Things you might have said, and the various ways you might have said them, swim back into your consciousness.”

One of her comments, about Henry VIII, reads: “I don’t think he is a monster. Or rather, I don’t think that saying he is gets us much further. He often seems terrifyingly inconsistent and flawed, but there is no type of man or woman who is suited to the exercise of absolute power.”

This, said Wiltshire, is “exactly what you want from Hilary Mantel. Brilliant.”

John le Carré began annotating his 1963 cold war thriller The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, but died when he was 45 pages in. His bookmark is still in place at the point he reached.

Next to a description of a man being shot dead while trying to cross from east to west Berlin, le Carré – a former spy – writes: “I never saw such a shooting, if there was one. The most notorious shooting of an attempted frontier crosser at the wall was of Peter Fechter, who was allowed to bleed to death on the mined strip while trying to climb. It happened over days and nights in plain sight of western spectators.”

Wiltshire said: “His annotations are so typically Le Carré. For example, he says: ‘Many agents lie about their personal lives for fear of losing their salaries. They also babble to their mistress or the stranger on a train.’ I just love that.

“He also corrects himself in various places, because the language is that of 1963. He says he wouldn’t write such passages now.

“This first edition is a valuable book in itself, very collectible. To have these annotations, made soon before he died, is utterly poignant.”

On the opening page of Brick Lane, Monica Ali’s 2003 novel about the east London Bangladeshi community, the author writes: “Haven’t read BL in last 16 or 17 years. Sense of trepidation. Also curiosity.”

Thoughts on Atonement from Ian McEwan.


In more than 1,000 words of commentary spread over 79 pages of the book, Ali says she wrote the first chapter of Brick Lane while on a family holiday in the Lake District. “We had attended my grandfather’s funeral two days previously. The story had been brewing for around a year. After the funeral, I knew I had to write it.”

In Atonement, Ian McEwan’s acclaimed novel set in the 1930s and 40s, the author writes in the margin next to a description of a dinner at Cambridge: “The English class system! I see from this distance that I’ve given Robbie something of myself. Rose, my mother, left school at 14 and entered service as a chambermaid … Only later in life did I see in retrospect various slights and snobberies directed my way …”

McEwan had written “thousands of words in the margins”, said Wiltshire. “One of the things he’s done so well is to explain the psychology of these characters. He talks about how memory plays tricks on us, you know, and that of course is a central theme of the book.”

The annotations were a “big undertaking” for the authors, said Wiltshire. “It involves attentive rereading of a book, genuine reflections and thousands of words of text. It shows that the issues English PEN campaigns on are ones they really care about.”

Estimates for the works range from £1,000 to £20,000.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Reports in Gaza: 5 dead from the impact of aid packages dropped by the USA
Apple warns against drying iPhones with rice
China Criticizes US for Vetoing UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza
In a recent High Court hearing, the U.S. argued that Julian Assange endangered lives by releasing classified information.
The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, instead proposing its own six-week ceasefire plan contingent upon the release of all hostages held by Hamas
Prince William Urges End to Gaza Conflict
Saudi Arabia ranks first in UN index for e-government services in MENA
Israel has gone ‘beyond self-defence’ in Gaza, says Labour’s Streeting
EU Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza Conflict
Israel Records 20% Drop In GDP, War In Gaza Is The Reason
Saudi Arabia's FDI Inflows Grow with New International Standards
Venture Capitals Power Up Across MENA Region
Saudi Arabia Introduces Terms for 30-Year Income Tax Exemption for Multinational Companies
Saudi FM: Establishing Palestinian state is only pathway for Mideast stability
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has died at the Arctic prison colony
Elon Musk's Starlink Gets License For Israel, Parts Of Gaza
Influencers Exploit X Platform for Profit Amidst Israel-Gaza Conflict
PM Modi Announces Opening Of New CBSE Office In Dubai
International Criminal Court's Chief "Deeply Concerned" By Rafah Bombing
January Funding for MENA Startups Totals $86.5 Million
Saudi Arabia accelerates digital economy growth through Nvidia partnership
Indian female military officers commend Saudi Arabia's progress and women's empowerment
Israel unveils tunnels underneath Gaza City headquarters of UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Israel deploys new military AI in Gaza war
Egypt threatens to suspend key peace treaty if Israel pushes into Gaza border town, officials say
Israel Utilizes AI Military Technology in Gaza Conflict
Saudi Arabia Warns Of A "Humanitarian Catastrophe" If Israel Moves On Rafah
China Warns Iran to Halt Houthi Attacks or Damage Trade Ties
US University To Shut Qatar Campus Due To "Heightened Mideast Instability"
Iran-backed hackers interrupt UAE TV streaming services with deepfake news
Facebook and Instagram Ban Iran's Supreme Leader
Finnish Airline, Finnair, is voluntarily weighing passengers to better estimate flight cargo weight
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken: The Israelis underwent dehumanization on 7.10, this does not give them the right to do this to others.
Defense Technology Showcase Held in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rise 2.5% to $6bn in November 2023: GASTAT
UK Bans Misleading "Zero Emissions" Claims for Electric Cars
Gaza's Teen Inventor Sparks Light in Displacement
Netanyahu Rejects Ceasefire Proposal, Insists On Total Victory Over Hamas
Guterres appoints independent UNRWA review panel
Private Sector Employment Hits Record High with Over 11 Million Employees in January
Rolls-Royce Executive Encourages Saudi Women to Tap into Their Inner 'Superhero' for Success in Defense Industry
Saudi Arabia launches National Academy of Vehicles and Cars
Saudi Tourism Minister Reveals Plan for 250,000 New Hotel Rooms by 2030
SAR to more than double eastern network passenger capacity with new trains deal
Saudi Arabia Enhances National Defense with New Partnerships
Saudi Aramco Maintains Arab Light Crude Pricing to Asia for March
NEOM Establishes New York Office to Support Investors
Saudi Wealth Fund Draws in Over $25 Billion Worth of Investments in Three Years, Al-Rumayyan Reveals
ZATCA Cautions Against Scammer Schemes
INTRA Defense Technologies inaugurates drone factory in Riyadh
×