Nova Express – William Burroughs (First UK Edition, Jonathan Cape, 1966)

This Jonathan Cape first UK edition (1966) of Nova Express by William S. Burroughs is of interest to collectors of Beat Generation first editions, William Burroughs first editions, and 20th century avant-garde fiction.

About: A very good first UK edition in original dust jacket. The boards show some wear to the head of the spine; the dust jacket is bright and striking with its bold red collage design incorporating Spanish newspaper cuttings — a visually arresting piece of 1960s graphic design. Internally clean and tight. The copyright page confirms: First published in Great Britain 1966 © 1964 by William S. Burroughs. A desirable copy of a key Burroughs title.

Details:

• Title: Nova Express
• Author: William S. Burroughs
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London
• Publication Date: 1966
• Edition: 1st UK Edition (first published in Great Britain)
• Binding: Hardcover
• Dust Jacket: Original dust jacket, red collage design with Spanish newspaper cuttings
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Synopsis: First UK edition Jonathan Cape imprint in original dust jacket; a key title in the Burroughs canon and essential for Beat Generation and avant-garde fiction collectors.

Review: Nova Express (1964, first published in Great Britain 1966) is the third novel in William S. Burroughs' Nova Trilogy, following The Soft Machine and The Ticket That Exploded. Deploying Burroughs' signature cut-up technique — developed in collaboration with Brion Gysin — the novel presents a hallucinatory science-fiction narrative in which the Nova Mob, a group of interplanetary criminals, exploit human addiction and control systems. The Nova Police attempt to dismantle their operations through the same fragmented, non-linear language. A landmark of experimental literature, Nova Express remains one of the most formally radical novels of the 20th century.