ABSALOM, ABSALOM!IS NO SOUTHERN COSTUME DRAMA ABOUT BYGONE TIMES. IT HAS AN ALL-AMERICAN THEME AND A PRESENT-DAY RELEVANCE. SUTPEN'S VIRTUES ARE THOSE OF A TYPICAL TWENTIETH-CENTURY MAN. So ARE HIS VICES-HIS DISMISSAL OF THE PAST, HIS COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE, AND HIS CONFI.DENCE THAT, WITH COURAGE AND KNOW-HOW,HE CAN ACCOMPLISH LITERALLY EVERYTHING.

For range and effect, philosophical weight, originality of style, variety of characterization, humor, and tragic intensity, [Faulkner's works] are try;' wrote Robert Penn Warren. Published in 1936, Absalom, Absalom! is Faulkner's ninth novel and one of his more admired. It is the story of Thomas Sutpen and his ruthless, single-minded attempt to forge a dynasty in Jefferson, Mississippi, in 1830. Although his grand design is ultimately destroyed by his own sons, a century later the figure of Sutpen continues to haunt young Quentin Compson, who is obsessed with his legacy and that of the Old South. "Faulkner's novels have the quality of being lived, absorbed,remembered rather than merely observed," noted Malcolm Cowley."Absalom, Absalom! is structurally the soundest of all the novels in the Yoknapatawpha series--and it gains power in retrospect." This edition follows the text of Absalom, Absalom! as corrected in 1986 under the direction of Noel Polk.

The Modern Library has played a significant role in American cultural life for the better part of a century.The series was founded in 1917 by the publishers Boni and Liveright and eight years later acquired by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It provided the foundation for their next publishing venture, Random House. The Modern Library has been a staple of the American book trade, providing readers with affordable hardbound editions of important works of literature and thought.For the Modern Library's seventyfifth anniversary, Random House redesigned the series, restoring as its emblem the running torchbearer created by Lucian Bernhard in 1925 and refurbishing jackets,bindings, and type, as well as inaugurating a new program of selecting titles. The Modern Library continues to provide the world's best books, at the best prices.