Patricia Highsmith's "People Who Knock at the Door" Advanced Reading Copy Dedicated to "the Palestinian people and their leaders"

Patricia Highsmith

First Edition

[Literature] Highsmith, Patricia. People Who Knock at the Door. New York: The Mysterious Press, 1985. Uncorrected Page Proof (Advance Reading Copy). Red printed wrappers, perfect-bound. Rear wrapper with promotional text printed in black. Stated "FIRST AMERICAN EDITION" on copyright page.

Uncorrected advanced reading copy of the first American edition of Patricia Highsmith’s penultimate novel. People Who Knock at the Door was one of Highsmith's most pointedly political works, and a trenchant critique of Christian fundamentalism and authoritarian family life in Reagan-era America. Set in a fictionalized small town in upstate New York, the novel charts the moral and emotional unraveling of a teenage boy, Arthur, who is increasingly alienated by his father’s born-again religiosity and his community’s moral hypocrisy. Though less overtly psychological than Highsmith’s earlier works, the novel underscores her persistent thematic interest in the dangers of social conformity and the corrosive effects of repression, motifs that resonate strongly within queer literary discourse. The book was first published in the UK in 1983 but was rejected by several American publishers for its anti-fundamentalist message before finally appearing in the U.S. two years later. This advance proof is especially significant for including a dedication to "the Palestinian people and their leaders", a controversial and subsequently omitted element not present in the trade edition. Highsmith’s political views became more outspoken in her later years, and this rare inclusion offers insight into her combative stance against both religious conservatism and U.S. foreign policy, further complicating her legacy as a cultural dissident. Near fine in original wrappers with mylar cover. A well-preserved copy of a politically charged and often overlooked late work by one of the twentieth century’s most complex queer authors.

Item #22445

Price: $225.00