The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand (1945)

S$49.00

The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand (1945)

S$49.00

A very early edition, reprinted from the first edition of 1943, before the printing errors were corrected.

Title: The Fountainhead

Author: Ayn Rand

Publisher: The Blakiston Company. No date, circa 1945.

Condition: Hardcover, no dust jacket. Reading copy only. Wear and fading to cover, with some fraying to cloth.. Hinge to title page cracked, back hinge also cracked, spine band attached to copyright page. Some even tanning to pages. Binding tight, text clean. 754pp,

SKU: rand-fountainhead Categories: ,

About the book (from Wikipedia):

The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel’s protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect, who battles against conventional standards and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation. Roark embodies what Rand believed to be the ideal man, and his struggle reflects Rand’s belief that individualism is superior to collectivism.

Roark is opposed by what he calls “second-handers”, who value conformity over independence and integrity. These include Roark’s former classmate, Peter Keating, who succeeds by following popular styles but turns to Roark for help with design problems. Ellsworth Toohey, a socialist architecture critic who uses his influence to promote his political and social agenda, tries to destroy Roark’s career. Tabloid newspaper publisher Gail Wynand seeks to shape popular opinion; he befriends Roark, then betrays him when public opinion turns in a direction he cannot control. The novel’s most controversial character is Roark’s lover, Dominique Francon. She believes that non-conformity has no chance of winning, so she alternates between helping Roark and working to undermine him.