Jumpers

London: Faber & Faber, 1972. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Impression ("First published in 1972) of Stoppard's first full-length play following "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead." Slim 8vo: 91,[1]pp. Publisher's finely woven scarlet cloth, spine stamped in gilt; typographic dust jacket printed in orange and black and priced £1.50. A Fine, fresh copy, virtually as new (and likely unread), marred only by a small neatly penned owner's name on front fly-leaf; otherwise bright and clean inside and out. A stunning example. Baker & Wachs A8. Jumpers opens dramatically, with the mock-striptease of a female character swinging in and out of sight on a huge chandelier; another intoning various songs that become drowned out by airplanes droning overhead, and a group of eight acrobats who complete this truly theatrical tableau, jumping, tumbling, and somersaulting at a London Mayfair Residence. The Radical Liberals have taken over the state and are euphorically celebrating their landslide victory. But on a deeper level, the play explores and satirizes the field of academic philosophy, likening it to a less-than-skillful competitive gymnastics display. Jumpers raises such questions as "What do we know?" and "Where do values come from?" It is set in an alternative reality in which British astronauts have landed on the moon and "Radical Liberals" (read relativists) have taken over the British government. It was supposedly inspired by the cockeyed notion that a manned moon landing would ruin the lunar orb as a poetic trope and possibly lead to a collapse of moral values. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable polypropylene sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed.