Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, first edition of Anne Frank's Diary printed in England, published by CONSTELLATION BOOKS, LONDON, 1952. Nice copy.
First British edition of the most famous diary of the 20th century. After its publication in the Dutch language in 1947, the diary was submitted to several British publishers for translation, but it was rejected by most on the grounds that the book was "too depressing" and that it "wouldn't sell". Another publisher, Viktor Gollencz, was initially interested in the book, but in the end he decided not to publish it because he thought it was too "controversial." He was worried that the book would offend some people, and he didn't want to risk alienating his customers. Finally, the book was published by a small publisher called "Constellation Books", and soon became a success in Britain, raising awareness of the events of the Holocaust. The foreword to the British edition was written by Storm Jameson.
Anne Frank's diary is considered the most popular personal work pertaining to the Holocaust period. But more than that, it is an international bestseller that maintains its status for many years. According to the Anne Frank House Museum, no less than 33 million copies of the book have been sold in 75 languages (as of 2010). The book holds two other records: it is the bestseller in the Dutch language and the best-selling personal diary of all time. In the preface to the first American edition of the book published that year, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote of the diary that it was "written by a young girl who is not afraid of the truth, it is one of the smartest and most moving books I have read about war and its impact on human beings".
After the diary was published, Otto Frank became the guardian of his daughter Anna's legacy and remained in this "role" until his death. In a study of Anne Frank's life, Otto Frank is quoted: "This is a unique role. In the normal course of a family's life it is the job of the child of a famous person to bear the honor and burden of preserving the memory, in my case this was reversed", and added on the book's unexpected success: "The diary contains and covers all areas of life and human interest so that each reader finds something that concerns him personally". Shimon Wiesenthal said similarly about the importance of Anne Frank's diary in commemorating the Holocaust: "People identify with this girl and say to themselves - this is the Holocaust, it was a family like my family. And so you can understand all that".
XV, 281 p. 20 cm. Original cover. No Dust Jacket. Nice copy in Very Good Condition.
