The Twyborn Affair by Patrick White Hardcover/DJ, First Ed. 1979 (Nobel Prize)

Story Title: The Twyborn Affair

Date of Publication: 1979 (first published)

Edition: First Edition Hardcover (Jonathan Cape)

Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd, London

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Language: English

ISBN: 0-224-01733-0

Cover Artists: Luciana Arrighi (jacket illustration); Mon Mohan (jacket design) — purple boards with gold lettering and line drawing of a face on the front

Writers: Patrick White

Characters: Eddie Twyborn (also known as Eudoxia Vatatzes and Eadith Trist), and a cast exploring identity, sexuality, and Australian life across multiple personas and settings

Key Facts: The Twyborn Affair is the second-to-last novel by Patrick White, the only Australian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1973). The book is structured in three parts and follows the complex life of Eddie Twyborn, who assumes different identities and genders while navigating themes of self-discovery, sexuality, love, and belonging. It was a bestseller and shortlisted for the Booker Prize (though White withdrew it). Your copy is the true first edition with the distinctive purple dust jacket featuring gold lettering and a black line drawing, brown cloth boards with gilt spine, and the Eyre & Spottiswoode printer’s device on the spine. It includes the standard “Also by Patrick White” list on the rear flap.

Page Count: 432 pages

Condition: Very good hardcover in a very good dust jacket. Please refer to photos and description for condition

• Dust jacket is complete with light edge wear, minor rubbing, and some fading to the spine (common for this purple design).
• Boards are clean and tight with minimal shelf wear.
• Binding is sound; interior pages appear clean .