The couple are served a silver service dinner in their honeymoon suite. Philip Larkin describes this turning point in his poem: It was a time ‘when to be young was a social encumbrance, a mark of irrelevance, a faintly embarrassing condition for which marriage was the beginning of a cure.’ But in the summer of 1962 the Pill was just a rumour and the repression of the fifties still reigned. The Beatles had just released their debut single ‘Love Me Do’ and the era of British Rock and Roll and sexual permissiveness was about to begin. McEwan set his story at the point when Britain, emerging from the austerity of wartime, was teetering on the brink of enormous social change. Their navigation of this significant act reflects not only their individual experience but also says a great deal about their times. The focus is on their fraught wedding night and the consummation of their marriage. So begins this novella written by an author at the height of his powers.

They believe themselves to be deeply in love, but they are anxious about what will shortly take place on the four-poster bed – big and white, and waiting in the next room. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.Florence and Edward are both twenty-two and know little to nothing about sex. _Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell.

_POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs please inquire for details.

The slipcase is fine also, strong and sturdy, clean overall, and without wear. _CONDITION: A fine copy the covers clean, the corners straight and unrubbed, the binding tight with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and free of prior owner markings clean, crisp, as new. _DESCRIPTION: Quarter blue cloth with decorative grey and white paper boards, gilt lettering and ornament on the spine, top edge stained navy blue, dark navy endpapers octavo size (8' by 5.25'), pagination: 3-166, one of 100 copies quarter-bound in cloth, this number 87, signed by the author. McEwan’s nickname still seems appropriate, not for the death of characters, but for the death of what could have been. With exquisite prose, Ian McEwan creates in 'On Chesil Beach' a story of lives transformed by a missed gesture or an unspoken word, exploring the devastating effects a lack of action can have on two lives. He was featured by 'The Times' in 2008 as one of the 50 greatest British authors since 1945, and has been awarded the Booker Prize (1998, for Amsterdam), the Shakespeare Prize (1999) and the Jerusalem Prize (2011). 1948), writer and screenwriter, was given the nickname 'Ian Macabre' after writing his first two novels. 87 of 100 copies, octavo size, 175 pp., signed by Ian McEwan.

Author of on chesil beach