Waiting for Godot | 1956, First English edition, advance review copy with the original Faber & Faber review slip

BECKETT, Samuel (1906–1989). Waiting for Godot. London: Faber and Faber, 1956.

First edition in English, advance review copy, accompanied by the original publisher's review slip.

Octavo. Original black boards, lettered in gilt to the spine, in the photographic dust jacket. Loosely inserted is the scarce Faber & Faber review slip announcing publication and requesting that notices not appear before the official publication date.

A particularly attractive example. The dust jacket remains bright and well preserved, and the book presents exceptionally well. The accompanying review slip, seldom encountered, offers a tangible link to the book's original publication and contemporary reception.

First published in Paris as En attendant Godot in 1952, Waiting for Godot transformed twentieth-century theatre. Beckett's own English translation appeared here for the first time, introducing English-speaking audiences to a work that would redefine dramatic form. Its tale of two tramps waiting endlessly for the mysterious Godot remains one of the most influential and discussed works of modern literature, giving rise to what would later become known as the Theatre of the Absurd.

Advance review copies are notably scarcer than standard trade issues, having been distributed in small numbers to critics and reviewers before publication. Surviving examples retaining their original review slips are increasingly uncommon.

A highly desirable copy of Beckett's masterpiece, preserved in a form seldom encountered on the market.