First Trilogy: Herself Surprised; To Be a Pilgrim; The Horse's Mouth

It is accepted that Joyce Cary is one of the great contemporary novelists, and many critics are agreed that his most successful work is the trilogy which includes Herself Surprised, To Be a Pilgrim, and The Horse's Mouth. These are the novels which explore the interlocking worlds of Sara Monday, Tom Wilcher, and the tragicomic artist Gulley Jimson. And these are novels which have won Mr. Cary his popular acclaim.

In First Trilogy the novels are brought together for the first time in a single volume. The purpose is obvious—to ensure that readers will approach the trilogy in the order of the author's intention. For only then can the full scope of the work be understood and appreciated.

In all of his writing Mr. Cary's concern is with the free creative spirit of contemporary man. In First Trilogy he is exploring the world of the artist as later, in his second trilogy, he explores the world of the politician. And what a world it is, seen in terms of his characters—so rich and varied with the stuff of life.

The text of The Horse's Mouth in this edition incorporates changes made by the author and Professor Andrew Wright of Ohio State University for a limited edition of the novel. The introduction, by Mr. Cary, was written especially for this volume.