The vignette is a drawing of Romanesque colonnades, arches and statues, giving the effect of an engraving by Piranesi. This vignette was later used on the title pages of a number of books by GM, including all of the titles in the Heinemann Uniform and Ebury editions.

Launch

Published July 1922 at 42/- in an edition of 1,030 copies.

Description

Height: 9 in; 22.86 cm

Width: 5 3/8 in; 5.38 in; 13.65 cm

[ ]6, A-T8, U4; pp [2], x, 312, comprising:

blank leaf, not paginated;
half title, with list of sixteen WORKS BY GEORGE MOORE on verso, pp [i-ii];
title page, with “London: William Heinemann 1922” at foot of verso, pp [iii-iv];
notice of limitation, verso blank, pp [v-vi];

This edition, printed from hand-set type on Dutch

hand-made paper, is limited to one thousand and

thirty copies, of which one thousand are for sale.

This is No. ＿ [numbered in ink]

George Moore [signed in ink]

ADVERTISEMENT pp vii-[viii], with vignette in space at end of text on p [viii];
table of CONTENTS, verso blank, pp [ix-x];
text, with shoulder sectional titles throughout, pp 1-[312], with

Printed in Great Britain by T. and A. CONSTABLE LTD.

at the Edinburgh University Press

at foot of p [312];

bluish-gray endpapers;
all edges untrimmed;
cream and gray headband;
paper-covered board sides, matching endpapers;
parchment spine, with white paper label on spine, lettered in brown:

In Single

Strictness

GEORGE

MOORE

Heinemann

[Formatted as an ordered list to facilitate reading]

“Wilfrid Holmes” previously published in London Mercury, February 1922
“Priscilla and Emily Lofft” rewritten from “Emma Bovary” in Lippincott’s Magazine, May 1902
“Hugh Monfret” is a further development of the theme of “John Norton” in Celibates (A21), a revision of A Mere Accident (A10). “Hugh Monfret” may also be a development of the plot outlined by GM to William Heinemann, who in turn (circa 1915) related it to George H. Doran, who retells it in his autobiography, Chronicles of Barabbas 1884-1935, New York, 1935, (pp 269-70),

“One day in great elation Moore came to Heinemann and outlined the plot of what he termed to be a great novel. In brief, a young man of family and distinction and title falls in love with a daughter of an equally distinguished house. The marriage is arranged. The wedding takes place at St. Margaret’s, Westminster. On the bridal night the bridegroom discovers his totally unthought-of and unsuspected impotency. The following day in humiliation and despondency he arranges for the dissolution of the marriage — the complete release of the woman he loves. He makes handsome settlement and departs immediately for a protracted voyage around the world on a sailing-ship. On board he meets a plump little sailor-boy and lives happily ever afterwards. ‘There,’ exclaimed Moore, ‘is a plot for you!’ Heinemann protested that no such book could be printed and published in England. But Moore contended: ‘Why not! it is simply a modernizing of the Greek practice which pleased and thrilled the male and in addition gave protection to the innocence of Grecian women.’”

“Henrietta Marr” is a revision of “Mildred Lawson” in Celibates (A21)
“Sarah Gwyrm” previously unpublished.

Shortly after the publication of In Single Strictness, GM rewrote the ending of “Hugh Monfret” and had it printed on six pages, numbered 191-96, to replace pp 191-200 of the first edition. A few presentation copies have these pages loosely inserted, and accompanying the Edmund Gosse copy (listed in Maggs Bros. Catalogue 531, 1930) are two letters from GM to Gosse regarding them. In one GM says,

“I think you will approve of the new end to the story entitled ‘Hugh Monfret.’ I enclose the new pages thinking that you might like to paste them into your copy of ‘In Single Strictness.’ The printer sent me twelve pulls.”

In the other letter he said,

“I hope you will let me know on a postcard how the new end of Hugh Monfret strikes you. Let me confess, I either ran away from the subject or my inspiration died in the last pages. In the actual text the man melted into nothingness, an unpermissable nothingness, a nothingness that his catholicism cannot condone.”

A44-2a First American edition

Title Page

IN SINGLE STRICTNESS

GEORGE MOORE

circular floral ornament, in red

New York

Printed Privately for Subscribers only by

BONI AND LIVERIGHT

1922

Launch

Published 10 September 1922 at $10 in an edition of 1,050 copies.

Description

Height: 9 1/2 in; 9.5 in; 24.13 cm

Width: 6 1/4 in; 6.25 in; 15.88 cm

[1]8, [2]2 (tipped in between [1]1 and [1]2), [3-21]8; pp [2], viii, 314, comprising;

blank leaf, not paginated;
half title, with list of twenty-one WORKS BY GEORGE MOORE on verso, pp [i-ii];
title page, with

IN SINGLE STRICTNESS

Boni & Liveright, Inc.

rule

Printed in the United States of America

at top and notice of limitation at foot of verso, pp [iii-iv];

This edition is limited to one thousand

and fifty numbered and signed copies

of which one thousand only are for sale

This is No. ＿ [numbered in ink]

George Moore [signed in ink]

ADVERTISEMENT pp v-vi;
table of CONTENTS, with AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT on verso,

The best thanks of the Author and the Publishers

are due to Mr. Arthur Brentano for his per-

mission to use in this volume some pages from a

book entitled Celibates, which he publishes.

pp [vii-viii];

text, with sectional shoulder titles throughout, pp 1-[314];
royal blue endpapers;
all edges untrimmed;
white head and tail bands;
paper-covered board sides, matching the endpapers, back and front covers plain,
parchment spine, with black leather label on spine, gilt stamped

[ornament] IN [ornament]

SINGLE

STRICT-

[ornament] NESS [ornament]

three dots in form of an inverted triangle

GEORGE

[dot] MOORE [dot]

all within ornamental border

GM wrote, in a presentation copy to Henry Tonks,

“My dear Tonks, here is a book for you. The inside is delightful, the outside hideous. The inside is by me, the outside by Liveright. Your old friend, George Moore.”

Same as first edition (A44-a),

A44-b Second American (Carra) edition, revised

Title Page

SINGLE STRICTNESS

GEORGE MOORE

rule

Carra Edition

rule

PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY BY

BONI AND LIVERIGHT, INC., NEW YORK

1923

Launch

Published in 1923 at $8.50 in an edition of 1,000 copies

Description

Height: 8 3/4 in; 8.75 in; 22.23 cm

Width: 5 1/2 in; 5.5 in; 13.97 cm

[1]4, [2-20]8, [21]6; pp [4], viii, 312, comprising:

two blank leaves, not paginated;
half title, with reproduction of painting tipped on verso, pp [i-ii];
tissue guard sheet, lettered in red at foot of verso

GEORGE MOORE

From a painting by Walter Sickert

In the National Gallery-Dublin

not paginated;

title page, with

SINGLE STRICTNESS

(Carra Edition)

rule

Boni & Liveright, Inc.

rule

Printed in the United States of America

in center and notice of limitation – same as in other volumes of Carra Edition (see A36-4a) – at foot of verso, p [iii-iv];

ADVERTISEMENT pp v-vi;
table of CONTENTS, verso blank, pp [vii-viii];
text pp 1-310;
pp [311-312] blank;
bluish-gray endpapers;
all edges trimmed;
paper-covered board sides, match-endpapers,
white parchment spine, with white paper label on spine, lettered in black, except as noted:

Single

Strictness

decorative rule

George Moore [in red]

decorative rule

Carra Edition

Volume XVIII

with two plain rules above and below decorative rule, all in red, at top and bottom of label

Plates of first American edition (A44-2a), except for pp 192-201, were used for this printing, with page numbers at top instead of bottom of pages, and shoulder titles omitted. Pages 192-197 reset to replace pp 192-201, with pp 198-310 renumbered, but in the table of contents the page numbers of the last two stories were not corrected to correspond with the proper pages, now 198 and 285.

Same as the first American edition (A44-2a), but with the new and shortened ending of “Hugh Monfret” noted following the description of contents of the first edition (A44-a).

Bibliographical Comment

In Single Strictness, omitting “Hugh Monfret,” republished as Celibate Lives (A52). See D:Sp-l for Spanish translations of “Henrietta Marr” and “Wilfrid Holmes.” In a letter to John Eglinton, dated “8-13-23,” GM wrote, “Hugh Monfret pleases me no longer and I have asked the French translator to omit it…”; however, no French translation has been located of either In Single Strictness or Celibate Lives.

Source: Curated by George Moore Interactive LLC (georgemooreinteractive.org) — Shared for research, educational, and personal use.