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Goldsboro Books

The Story of a Non-Marrying Man

The Story of a Non-Marrying Man

by Doris Lessing

Publisher Jonathan Cape

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  • UK First Edition
  • First Printing
  • Hardcover


Regular price £45.00
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  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    Very good first edition with slight foxing on the top of the page block. In a good clipped dust jacket and dust jacket with a few small tears and slight chipping to the spine.

    This book is located in our Brighton shop and may take longer for delivery.

About the book

Johnny Blakeworthy was a polite and gentle bigamist, a vagrant who concluded each of his many 'marriages' with a thank toy letter and ended his life known to the African villagers among whom he lived as 'The Man Who Has No Woman'. Hetty Pennefather was the embattled owner of an equally embattled cat who rejected the traditional occupations of widowhood for the free life of a rag-trader. Ephraim was a middle-aged diamond-cutter who fell in love with the daughter of an Alexandrian merchant and made his life a glittering homage to her. these richly individual characters appear together in The Story of a Non-Marrying Man, perhaps Doris Lessing's most enjoyable collection.

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About the Author

Doris Lessing

Doris Lessing was a British-Zimbabwean (Rhodesian) novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remained until moving in 1949 to London, England. Her novels include The Grass Is Singing, the sequence of five novels collectively called Children of Violence, The Golden Notebook, The Good Terrorist and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos: Archives.


Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described her as "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny". Lessing was the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In 2001, Lessing was awarded the David Cohen Prize for a lifetime's achievement in British literature. In 2008, The Times ranked her fifth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".



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GPSR EU Safety Information

1. Manufacturer Contact Information

Goldsboro Books Ltd - 23-27 Cecil Court, London, WC2N4EZ, enquiries@goldsborobooks.com, 02074979230

2. EU Authorised Representative Information

Easy Access System Europe - Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia, gpsr.requests@easproject.com

3. Safety Warnings

Not applicable

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