MISTER JOHNSON

In the early 1950s, Michael Joseph published a series of best-selling books under the imprint Mermaid Books. They were all 5" x 7 1/2", on thicker paper. Colored, illustrated and laminated covers. Not paperbacks, not hard covers--flexible harder covers is the best way to describe them. This is one of those Mermaid Books.

It is Mister Johnson, the sixth of 23 novels, written in 1939, by the Irish novelist Joyce Cary (1888-1957). Cary, who called it his favorite book, wrote the story as humor, but it is actually more of a tragedy, as it is about a young Nigerian who falls afoul of British colonial authorities. It is regularly used in schools and produced for the stage. In 1990, Bruce Beresford became the first director to shoot an American film on location in Nigeria; his film of the same name starred Maynard Eziashi, Pierce Brosnan and Edward Woodward.

This book is 206 pages with no interior adornment.

The front cover has a small crease; there is a scratch on the back cover.

Inside, the paper has darkened as you would expect but it is otherwise in perfect condition.