[Philippine Literature]. Rizal, Dr. Jose [1861 - 1896]. Derbyshire, Charles - Translator. The SOCIAL CANCER. A Complete English Version of Noli me Tangere from the Spanish of Jose Rizal. New York: Phillipine Education Company, 1912. Linen cloth binding, with dark brown stamping. lv, 502 pp (including Glossary). Crown 8vo. 7-3/4" x 5-1/8". 1st Edition Thus. Minor wear & soiling, though square & tight. Period poi to front eps, with date stamp [1919]. Rfep with newspaper clipping affixed, which prints Rizal's last writing, a poem, "My Last Farewell." A VG+ copy.

"Noli Me Tangere was Rizal's first novel. He was 26 at its publication. This book was [and remains] historically significant and was instrumental in the establishing of the Filipino's sense of national identity. The book indirectly influenced a revolution although the author, JosŽ Rizal, advocated non-violent means and only direct representation to the Spanish government. The novel was written in Spanish, the language of the educated at a time when Filipinos were markedly segregated by diverse native languages and regional cultures.Rizal started writing the Noli in Madrid, Spain. Half of it was done by the time he left for Paris, and it was printed in Berlin, Germany. Vicente Blasco Ib‡–ez, a well-known writer and political activist, volunteered his services as proofreader and consultant. He [Rizal] finished the novel on December 1886 and published it with the financial aid of Maximo Viola.The novel created so much controversy that only a few days after his arrival, Governor General Terrero summoned him to the Malaca–‡ng Palace and told him of the charges saying that the Noli was full of subversive ideas. After a discussion, the liberal Governor General was appeased but he mentioned that he was unable to offer resistance against the pressure of the Church to take action against the book. The persecution can be discerned from Rizal's letter to Leitmeritz: "My book made a lot of noise everywhere, I am asked about it. They wanted to anathematize me ['to excommunicate me'] because of it . . . I am considered a German spy, an agent of Bismarck, they say I am a Protestant, a freemason, a sorcerer, a damned soul. It is whispered that I want to draw plans, that I have a foreign passport and that I wander through the streets by night ..."This novel and its sequel, El filibusterismo (nicknamed Fili), were banned in the Philippines because of their portrayal of corruption and abuse by the country's Spanish government and clergy. ... Copies were smuggled in nevertheless, and when Rizal returned to the Philippines after completing medical studies, he quickly ran afoul of the local government. First exiled to Dapitan, he was later arrested for "inciting rebellion" based largely on his writings. Rizal was executed in Manila on December 30, 1896 at the age of thirty-five." [Wiki]. This publication billed as the "Complete English Version", having been preceded by a 1900 novel "Adapted from Rizal's 'Noli Me Tangere'." A somewhat uncommon book, in either edition.