In his classic antiwar novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front," known for its detailed realism, Erich Maria Remarque gave his hero, Baumer, universal appeal, in part by leaving out some details.
But in a newly recovered manuscript, the only known complete text of the novel in the author's handwriting, Remarque adds some defining lines, through penciled revisions and corrections.In one episode, perhaps an alternative beginning for the novel, Remarque describes Baumer's family and home life before the war, including his taste for books, and gives some dates for events. The gym lesson, for example, in which the young men's schoolmaster urges them to join up, is dated Nov. 11, 1916.
Some names have been changed as well. And a number of sections present in the manuscript do not appear in the published text.
Most of Remarque's papers had been given to the Fales Library at New York University by his second wife, Paulette Goddard. But this early version of "All Quiet," written in German, had remained in the possession of his first wife. The manuscript was consigned to Sotheby's, the auction house, earlier this year by a client who asked to remain anonymous.
The book, translated into 45 languages, has sold more than 50 million copies since its publication in 1929 by Little, Brown.
"All Quiet on the Western Front" recounts the experiences of a young private in the trenches during World War I, depicting the horrors endured in the soldier's simple, crude language. It was later publicly burned by the Nazis, and Remarque was stripped of his German citizenship.
The manuscript, which will be on view at Sotheby's in New York from Nov. 20 through Nov. 22, will be auctioned on Dec. 1 in London and is expected to bring more than $450,000, officials at the auction house said.