The Lilies of the Field.

BARRETT, William E.

$350.00

Item Number: 122344

Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1962.

First edition of the author’s classic retelling of the true story of the Sisters of Walburga, adapted into the Academy Award winning film of the same name starring Sidney Poitier, his performance which made him the first African-American actor to win a competitive Academy Award. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with drawings by Burt Silverman. Signed by the author on the half-title page, “-with all best wishes William E. Barrett.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket painting by Burt Silverman.

Based on the true story of the Sisters of Walburga, The Lilies of the Field tells the story of an African American itinerant worker who encounters a group of East German nuns who come to believe that he has been sent to them by God to build them a new chapel. The novel was adapted into the film of the same name directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Stanley Adams, and Dan Frazer which received numerous awards and nominations including 5 Academy Award nominations. Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor, becoming the first African-American actor to win a competitive Academy Award and the second African-American to win after Hattie McDaniel won for Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind.