THE BOOK OF EBENEZER LE PAGE

Lavishly illustrated for the first time by Guernsey artist Charlie Buchanan

And published in a limited edition of 526 copies

” Coated with sea salt, its crannies spilling wildflowers, Edwards’ book still roars like some huge sea shell held, cutting, against your ear.”

This beautiful new edition is designed to give Guernsey’s greatest literary masterpiece the presentation it deserves and to put it firmly back on the literary map.

Gerald Basil Edwards wrote only one book, it was published, posthumously, in 1981, and was an immediate worldwide literary sensation. As one critic wrote, ” Every so often there comes along a novel so good that one actually feels grateful to be alive and to have had the chance to read it…”

Edwards’ fictional Guernseyman, Ebenezer Le Page guides us through his life, and through a century of change, concealing the theme of the novel in “a river of sharply observed seemingly trivial events”. It is as John Fowles wrote in his introduction; “ a remarkable achievement…the book’s voice and its methods are so unusual that it belongs nowhere on our conventional literary maps… but we no longer care how inconsequential or digressive the story becomes, as long as that voice is still speaking.

THE ILLUSTRATIONS

Artist Charlie Buchanan has published three books alongside her writer husband Magnus Buchanan: her work sits neatly between illustration and fine art. Charlie lives and works as an artist, educator and mother of four on the island of Guernsey.

Charlie is the artist tasked with the enviable challenge of reimagining G.B Edwards’ masterwork. Charlie‘s love affair with the book began in a dusty second hand bookshop in New Zealand in 2002 when she picked up a well-thumbed copy of the 1982 paperback edition. The copy had a white cover and in the centre was a picture of Ebenezer, the eponymous Guernseyman. For Charlie, the book was like a magic portal transporting her home – away from the rolling surf of Gisbourne and back to the turquoise waters of her home. Three months later, she set foot in Guernsey once again and a dream to illustrate this most beautiful and moving of literary works was born.

There will be 13 stunning full colour illustrations, each carefully informed by Charlie’s love of the text. Each image is a stand-alone painting painstakingly produced by Charlie over the last two years, taking the reader through Ebenezer’s life and highlighting key moments throughout the book. A stunning illustrated map will provide a structure for the narrative and put the story beautifully in context.

All these works are set to be shown from June 21st2022 at the George Crossan Gallery in conjunction with the Guernsey Literary Festival and kindly sponsored by Rawlinson and Hunter. You can find out more about Charlie’s work at: www.charliebuchanan.com.

“ I wish I could remember what we said to each other that night. I know we sat down on the grass and talked more friendly than we ever had before. Jim was always open with me, and said anything that came into his head; but I wasn’t so open with him, as a rule. That night I was.”

“It’s a wonder those two houses ever got built at all, there was so many quarrels. It wasn’t the brothers. Percy was quite willing to give in to Harold; and Harold worked with Percy all right, so long as he was the boss. It was the sisters. There was never two sisters more different from each other as those two”

THE 2022 ILLUSTRATED EDITION

Type set by award winning book designer Paul Harpin and printed on a heavyweight acid-free archival quality paper the book features all 13 of Charlie’s stunning illustrations. She has also designed the specially made end-papers, showing a map of Guernsey with the locations that were so important to Ebenezer as well as a family tree of the Le Pages and the Martels.

The book will be released in 3 distinct editions in late 2022 after launching at The Guernsey Literary Festival in June.

THE ISLAND EDITION

The Island Edition is bound in cloth with gold blocking and is released in a hand numbered, limited edition of 350 copies. Price £55.

Each copy has the opening lines of the book gold blocked on the spine and a map of Guernsey on the cover.

Shipping packing courier costs:

UK £10 Channel Islands £15 EU £20 Rest Of World £25

THE LEATHER BOUND EDITION

The Leather Bound Edition is quarter bound, by hand, in leather, with specially commissioned hand-made marble cover papers reflecting the sea and rocks around Guernsey. The spine and cover are gold blocked and the book is presented in a cloth-covered gold blocked slipcase. Each of the 150 hand numbered copies will be signed by the artist and the price is £295

Shipping packing courier costs:

UK £10 Channel Islands £15 EU £20 Rest Of World £25

THE EXEMPLARY EDITION

The Exemplary Edition will be limited to 26 hand-lettered copies.

Price of £1150

Each copy will be fully bound in leather by hand with gold blocking to the spine and cover. The end papers will be especially commissioned marble papers in blue, red and brown, reflecting the sea and rocks around Guernsey. The map of Guernsey will be printed in large format and tipped into the book.

Each exemplary is hand lettered and signed by both the artist and the rights holder. The book is presented in a cloth covered and gold blocked solander box and within a recess in the box each copy will come complete with a piece of original artwork created by Charlie during the preparation of the illustrations.

Shipping packing courier costs:

UK £25 Channel Islands £30 EU £40 Rest Of World £45

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