Buy new:
-7% $13.99
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 14 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$13.99 with 7 percent savings
List Price: $14.99

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 14 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 11 hrs 40 mins
In Stock
$$13.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$9.62
Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less See less
FREE delivery May 16 - 22. Details
Or fastest delivery Friday, May 10. Order within 40 mins. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Joyce Cary
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Horse's Mouth Paperback – October 22, 2020

by Joyce Cary (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 218 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.99","priceAmount":13.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"S0BIy9%2FZLAgt%2BwuXVLRNWT3QiKtnFN0uNfXj9tYDyb9boWz0nmh6%2BzIa8mmWqJAUMcJgK7n9z2WQc7fDRz0tjeNUkJR3vdbmPnGv8u6c1nejumaBVP0cOyw57VTmaefXKFxsXjng3nw%2BtyimgP%2FRlA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.62","priceAmount":9.62,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"62","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"S0BIy9%2FZLAgt%2BwuXVLRNWT3QiKtnFN0uHaAGKtRAwBatpcr24swZsrvcN1XfjjeQTVg9hn23X8PEWTpwsc9hTv1lcncl5ay2%2B5clUe%2FpXxM%2Bj%2BVcGfsktaTa8gNfdQqxc4zvtPefrOI3llFcLk1FDpp4nbc9s6egxA1ootgsxSLez0W0BvzV6g%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

The Horse's Mouth, famously filmed with Alec Guinness in the central role, is a searing portrait of the artistic temperament.

Gulley Jimson is the charming, impoverished painter who cares little about the conventional values of his day. His unfailing belief that he must live and paint according to his intuition without regard for the cost to himself or to others, makes him a man of great, if sometimes flawed, vision.

But with an admirable drive for creation comes an astonishing hunger for destruction. Is he a great artist? A has-been? Or an exhausted, drunken ne'er-do-well?

As Gulley Jimson criss-crosses London in search of money and inspiration, the world as seen through his eyes appears with a wonderful lustre and a terrible beauty.


'The Horse's Mouth has the kick of ten stallions. Mr Joyce Cary writes at top pace, at the top of his voice, and the top of his form' - The Observer

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 3 of 3
    First Trilogy
  2. Print length
    334 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Lume Books
  5. Publication date
    October 22, 2020
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1839012455
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1839012457
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

The Horse's Mouth
$13.99
Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Herself Surprised (First Trilogy)
$12.99
Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14
Only 5 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
To Be a Pilgrim (First Trilogy)
$17.99
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The richest comic novel of the last ten years' - V. S. Pritchett


'Mr Joyce Cary is an important and exciting writer... if you like rich writing full of gusto and accurate original character drawing, you will get it from The Horse's Mouth' - John Betjeman


'The Horse's Mouth has the kick of ten stallions. Mr Joyce Cary writes at top pace, at the top of his voice, and the top of his form' - The Observer

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books (October 22, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 334 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1839012455
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1839012457
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 218 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Joyce Cary

Joyce Cary

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
218 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

sfwriter
5.0 out of 5 stars An unjustly forgotten writer
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
I'm not going to go into a lot of detail, but I think this trilogy is one of the great works of the 20th century. The way Cary inhabits each of these very different characters, and the interweaving of their stories, the way he presents some of the same events from three completely different perspectives--each one equally self-absorbed, passionate, and convincing--is fascinating and profound. "The Horse's Mouth", of course, is a masterpiece all on its own in its depiction of the perceptions of a not very trustworthy or reputable, but relentlessly creating artist. There's a lot of humour in the books, but beyond that, they are moving and inspiring. Even the worst characters are so fundamentally human that, at least if approached with an open mind (unfashionable as that is at the moment), they leave you with a sense of hope for our absurd species.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Daniel Myers
4.0 out of 5 stars A Portrait of The Artist as an Old Cad
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2009
Verified Purchase
The first thing to say about this "lost masterpiece" is that it's quite funny. --- It's quite funny. --- The second thing to say is that the pre-WWII London scene presented here by our narrator, the crafty, dodgy 67 year old artist Gulley Jimson, is that it's full of despair. --- It's full of despair. --- But there exists no despair at which Jimson, our vitalist anti-hero, can't smile wryly or cock a snook, even as his artistic visions fall into disaster in his attempts at their execution. When we meet him, he's just getting out of the nick for some smash-and-grab and when he departs he's off to hospital in a "police ambulance."

Despite the novel's essentially comic nature, it's comedy with a bite; and the reader may feel a bit unsettled during and after the reading of it. The despair is quite real and quite lyrically described, with a painter's eye, one could say:

"And I went out to get room for my grief. Thank God, it was a high sky on Greenbank. Darker than I expected....Sun was in the bank. Streak of salmon below. Salmon trout above soaking into wash blue. River whirling along so fast that its skin was pulled into wrinkles like silk dragged over the floor. Shot silk. Fresh breeze off the eyot. Sharp as spring frost. Ruffling under the silk-like muscles in a nervous horse. Ruffling under my grief like ice and hot daggers."

Explaining what this book is "about" though, in a deeper sense - and there is a deeper sense - is well-nigh impossible. This difficulty arises from the fact that Jimson quotes Blake's prophetic and abstruse poems throughout the book. Indeed, they make up almost a fifth of the entire novel and seem to be the only thing in which Jimson staunchly believes. All this is to say that if you have a comprehensive understanding of Blake's mythology - Be clear though that Blake and Jimson emphatically do NOT regard it as mythology - you might understand this book. Any poor soul that's delved into Blake's arcana and tried to make sense of them knows full well what a bootless task this endeavour is. The only thing one can say with any degree of certainty is that Jimson, along with Blake, is the artist who thinks that the world can go hang. Art is the only reality.

Thus Jimson cadges, robs, nearly starves himself, murders (inadvertently, of course) in order to follow his pursuit. Be all this as it may, when all is said and done, it is Cary's gift with dialogue and Jimson's sharp wit that catch the reader and linger. Further, the book, for all its madcap drolleries, has a twilit shroud hanging over it. The reader knows from the first chapter that Jimson will die soon, and as Jimson says:

"Old men when they begin to hear the last trumpet, on the morning breeze, often have a kind of absent-minded smile; like people listening."

It's no small task to wipe that smile off one's face after finishing this book.
30 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Stephen Blount
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest novels of the 20th century
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
One of the greatest novels of the 20th century. I don't know how Modern Library missed this one. Anthony Burgess regarded it as one of the greatest novels of the modern era and so did many other writers and critics. Joyce Cary is a master of colloquial British dialogue and the novel is both uproariously funny and metaphysically profound. Best of all are the unforgettable characters...,,Gulley Jonson, Sara Monday, et, al, Easily the finest novel about a painter and his art and one of my favorites. Easily in my top ten novels of all time
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Barry V.
5.0 out of 5 stars Got it!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
Arrived promptly. The book will be a good activity gift for a friend on the mend.
Helpful
 Report
JoshInMillValley
5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual book!
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2020
Verified Purchase
My little men's book club decided to read this book for reasons to hard and random to explain. It's defies classification but is beautifully written and fun to read.
Helpful
 Report
Vermont Reader
2.0 out of 5 stars Two Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
Book was not in very good condition. Cover snapped off the first time I opened it.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mark Schindler
3.0 out of 5 stars "It's OK"
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2011
Verified Purchase
I was tempted to give this only 2-stars, but I guess it is "OK". The book is interesting in some ways but I found it easy to get bogged down in it. The rather meteorological descriptions of the Thames at virtually every scene change got a bit old. And, in a recession, reading about the guy's life falling a part gets a tad depressing too...
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
wafnaman
4.0 out of 5 stars a very dark book
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
I read Cary's novel because I am devoted fan of the Ealing Studios comedy The Horse's Mouth, starring Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh and other notable thespians, and wanted to see how closely the movie adhered to the novel. I found that he movie emphasizes the comic passages of the book, and diminishes some of the darker aspects of the work, including some major characters. This is understandable in the view of time available. I have to say, though, that the movie, although dark, attempts to play itself as a comedy. The book is far darker, even though the author attempts to describe Jimson's disreputable actions in a comic light. Both the movie and the book, however, succeed in trying to show the struggles of artists in attempting to express their visions in the face of a world which largely doesn't care.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Brian Stephens
5.0 out of 5 stars Great seller
Reviewed in Canada on January 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
Great seller, first copy didn’t arrived but was sent a replacement. Good read as well.
Report
Jen
5.0 out of 5 stars The Artist’s life.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
It’s a great book. Comes closer to describing the inner workings of an artist than anything else I’ve read. The film version is great too, if a little different in places. As a painter, It struck a chord or two following the vagaries of Gulley Jimson’s life and artistic quest, which is a little depressing… though I guess most artists will relate to him in some way - if nothing else, the struggle to capture one’s artistic vision in a work of art.

The creative impulse, the need to give it form, to translate it, is constant, like a perpetual drug, a Walter Mitty like haze of creative thought - the one true religion you can’t switch off or excommunicate yourself from. And doing so, or ignoring it to try and force your weird shaped peg into the square hole of daily life, leads to giant, myriad pits of depression. This book describes that existence very well.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Melvyn Elphee
5.0 out of 5 stars Art vs fart
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is one of the most original and powerful novels I've read, a real classic. But I think it is important not to see the protagonist as "an artist": he has only that part of the artist that gets as far as inspiration - the artistic impulse. He never sees anything through to actual creation beyond an early arguably pornographic work, possibly unfinished. The rest is a tragi-comic abuse of a life and the lives of others in favour of a madness that cannot be confused with the rigour, dedication, skill, tenacity of real art. But Cary explores all that superbly.
2 people found this helpful
 Report
Geoffrey Hunter
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on May 25, 2016
Verified Purchase
It's a great book
Report
G . S . Griffiths
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece I cannot praise too highly .
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is one of the finest books ever written . I have at least 5 copies in conventional book form . Now I have the kindle edition . I first read it in a vintage hotel in California in 1984 during an unusually wet day . I was captivated by the energy and beauty of this wonderful book . I am still in awe of the writing after reading it more than a dozen times , it's that kind of magical work .

It was Alec Guinesses favourite book and he was determined to make a film of it . The film is also a masterpiece .
4 people found this helpful
 Report