SEBASTIAN BARRY (b.1955)
The Secret Scripture. London: Faber and Faber, 2008.
A vibrant first edition, extensively annotated and illustrated by the author in colour pencil and black ink, with 733 words and 36 drawings across 72 pages. Winner of the Costa Book of the Year in 2008 and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, Barry’s poignant novel was adapted into a film of the same name in 2016. The Secret Scripture deploys interwoven narratives to relay the story of Roseanne, a patient at Roscommon mental hospital in Sligo, Ireland, whose life mirrors developments in Irish history from the Victorian era to the modern age. This copy contains authorial annotations which give insights into the personal nature of the story and describe the psychology and motivations of its characters, while the expressive illustrations offer a unique visual insight into the workings of the author’s imagination. He is particularly engaging in his honesty about the process of writing: ‘I do remember the huge UNCERTAINTY of writing this book – but also the serenity of the process. How the book unfolded naturally day by day’. An additional hand-written note from the author to the buyer is loosely inserted, as well as a newspaper clipping from the Guardian (28.02.09), featuring an article on the room in which Barry wrote the novel.

Octavo. Original grey boards, black lettering to the spine, pictorial dust jacket.

Buyer’s premium is payable, with a significant portion donated by Christie’s to English PEN, but note that no VAT is payable on hammer price or buyer’s premium.
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