Literature

London: Allen Lane. Very Good++/Near Fine. 1980. First Edition. Hardback. This is Richard Adam's fourth major novel, and like 'Watership Down', it is set in the Berkshire countryside. Yet the story could hardly be more different in content from his previous world-wide bestsellers. This is the haunting and haunted tale, set in the early 1970s, of a passionate love-affair, overwhelmingly beautiful but at the same time threatened by intimations of a frightening supernatural dimension. Dust-jacket has one corner reinforced with archival tape; jacket is in loose protective cover. A clean and Very Good++ copy in a Near Fine dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Hutchinson. Very Good+/Near Fine. 1992. First Edition Thus. Hardback. 0091745365 This is a love story, but as always with Amis, it develops through a variety of wickedly funny scenes and characters. It is as entertaining and thought-provoking as anything Amis has written. A few feint foxing spots to top page edges, otherwise boards and contents clean. Dust-jacket has very minor rubbing to corners and top/bottom of spine; jacket is in loose protective cover. A Very Good+ clean copy in a Near Fine dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Andre Deutsch. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1976. First Edition. Hardback. 023396793 252pp. 'The Deep' has all the drama and suspense that made Benchley's first novel, 'Jaws', a worldwide bestseller and the most successful film in history. The secret which unlocks the story lies on a coral reef off Bermuda. The unnumerable admirers of 'Jaws' will expect a great deal from this book and they will not be disappointed. Dust-jacket has bumping to top edge and a tiny chip to top corner of spine; jacket is in loose protective cover. A clean copy in Very Good+ condition in a Very Good+ dust-jacket. . more information

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New York: Viking Kestrel/Penguin. Near Fine/Near Fine. 1986. First US Edition. Hardback. This outstanding collection of fourteen stories heralds the American debut of an important new writer who has already earned international acclaim. V.S. Naipaul writes "I welcome this book by my nephew. I'm staggered by the talent which is already so developed: the texture of the prose, the vision, the scenes, the people, the narrative orchestration." Short black pen mark on bottom page edges. Dust-jacket has a very few tiny foxing spots to inside; jacket is in loose protective cover. Overall a nice clean copy in Near Fine condition in a Near Fine dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Cassell. Fine/Fine. 1974. First Edition. Hardback. 0304293660 Jacket design by Cannie Cheung. This is the first story in a projected new series of modern thrillers written under the pseudonym of Robin Cade by a highly successful historical novelist. It is a superbly exciting debut. A Fine copy in a Fine dust-jacket; jacket is in loose protective cover. . more information

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London: Cassell. Fine/Near Fine. 1976. First Edition. Hardback. This is a thriller set in New York with a very sharp bite, building to a nerve-racking climax, the tension heightened by the season's counterpoint of peace and goodwill. Lettering to spine of dust-jacket just a bit faded; jacket is in a loose protective cover. A really Fine copy in a Near Fine dust-jacket. . more information

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London: HarperCollins. Very Good+.. 1996. Special Edition. Paperback. 0583323413 352 pages plus 8 pages with diagrams detailing characters in the various books of The Samson Series. This volume - 'Faith' - follows directly from the end of 'Spy Sinker'. As the summer of 1987 turns cold, Fiona's recuperation in California is nearing an end. Bernard is at Los Angeles airport, saying goodbye to her as he departs on a mysterious assignment in communist East Germany. Like all the other books, 'Faith' is designed to stand alone, and be read without reference to the other stories. A nice clean copy in Very Good+ condition. . more information

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Penguin. Good++.. 1985. Reprint. Paperback. 0140430032 Edited by Angus Calder. Penguin Classics reprint. 512 pages including Appendices and Notes. The story of orphan Pip and the mysterious fortune which falls into his lap, his snobbish rejection of his old friends and his growth through pain and mishap into true maturity is the basis for a story where violence and guilt jostle with sharp and grotesque comedy. Front cover shows a detail from 'A Country Blacksmith Disputing the Price of Iron' by J.M.W. Turner. Contents nice and clean. Rubbing to corners, a Good++ copy. . more information

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London: Chatto, Boyd & Oliver. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1969. First Edition. Hardback. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall 70110273X Illustrated with charming line drawings of the countryside and the Greek characters in this book. 128 pages. A lovely childrens story set in Greece around Delphi. Pictorial dust-jacket has one small closed tear, repaired inside with clear archival tape; jacket is in loose protective cover. A Very Good+ copy in a Very Good+ dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Faber. Good.. 1960. First Edition Thus. Paperback. 132pp including Introduction, Notes and Index of Proper Names. Aristophanes wrote 'Lysistrata' in 412 B.C. and produced it early in the following year at the Lenaia, the great Athenian festival of Dionysos. It is the last of the 3 comedies which the poet devoted to the subject of the Peloponnesian War; and, in spite of its almost unexampled ribaldry, it has a sombre depth, an intensity of meaning, that we do not find in the other 2 plays, the 'Acharnians' and the 'Peace'. Card covers slightly rubbed at spine edges, otherwise a clean copy in Good condition. . more information

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Penguin. Good+.. 1972. Reprint. Paperback. 0140003118 This is the involved story of 2 sisters and a house and the family which occupies it. But hints about the plot do little justice to the subtle art with which the narrative is developed or to the delicate pattern of its composition. A Good+ copy. . more information

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London: Edward Arnold. Very Good+/Good++. 1951. First Edition. Hardback. This is a second collection from Mr. Forster's occasional papers of about 70 essays, articles, broadcasts, etc., nearly all of them composed since the publication of the first collection, 'Abinger Harvest', in 1936. In his 'Prefatory Note' the author writes 'The opening section, 'The Second Darkness', concentrates on the war which began for Great Britain in 1939... The second section, 'What I Believe', covers the same period as the first and sometimes the same subjects, but its climate is ethical and aesthetic. It opens with an essay which may be regarded as a key to the book. Then come the arts... Theories of art are followed by the arts in action - literature particularly... Then places: in them also I believe.' Black boards with gilt, nice and clean. Some parts of end papers browned otherwise contents clean. Dust-jacket is browned on the inside, as is usual for this type of paper; and has some small tears and chips to corners and top/bottom of spine all repaired with archival tape; jacket is in loose protective cover. Overall a nice copy in Very Good+ condition in a Good++ dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Triad/Panther Books. Fair.. 1984. Reprint. Paperback. 058603403X 399 pages. In this brilliant novel, John Fowles has evoked in perfect detail the Victorian world of repressed sexuality and cruel hypocrisy. In the central figures of Charles Smithson and the ostracised Sarah Woodruff he has created two figures who, seeking to escape from the cant and tyranny of their age, achieve an epic and tragic stature. Film tie-in front cover. Stain and creasing to front cover and spine. Contents clean. A Fair copy. . more information

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London: Reprint Society. Very Good/Very Good. 1964. Reprint. Hardback. This is a work of subtlety and imagination, a brilliant account of a psychopathic obsession, a haunting, breath-taking thriller with serious moral overtones. For a first novel 'The Collector' is an astonishing and memorable 'tour de force'. Dust-jacket has minor foxing to inside, small pen mark on front panel, and some corners rubbed and repaired with archival tape; jacket is in loose protective cover. Minor foxing spots to end papers and page edges, otherwise a Very Good copy in a similar dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Macmillan. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1977. First Edition. Hardback. 0333214927 272pp. Clementina Carey was the daughter of a crofter on the east coast of Scotland, and this historical novel by her great-grandson chronicles the rise in her fortunes and the adventures that befell her on the way. It is a story whose main features can be paralleled in many families whose Scottish forebears rose from poverty owing to their enterprise and faith in education. The facts have inspired a rich and eventful narrative which is also a study of a courageous woman. But, though the basic facts are true, this is a novel, not a family history. Dust-jacket has some minor rubbing to corners and edges; jacket is in loose protective cover. A clean copy in Very Good+ condition in a Very Good+ dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Victor Gollancz. Very Good+/Near Fine. 1989. First UK Edition. Hardback. 0575045698 Super-intelligent Carl Davis the Third has always been on good terms with his parents, so he cannot understand his mother's decision to send him away from home. Worse still, he has been packed off to his grandmother's small, prejudiced southern town, far removed from the cosmopolitan bustle of New York. He knows he is being punished - but what is his crime?... Rosa Guy's novel explores themes of race and status, trust and betrayal in a moving story of one boy's developing awareness of a wider, and sometimes frightening, world. A nice clean copy in Very Good+ condition in a Near Fine dust-jacket; jacket is in loose protective cover. . more information

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London: Michael Joseph. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1977. First Edition. Hardback. Illustrated with line drawings by Larry. This book touches on the flying training which Herriot delighted in, but it is less about the war than about the people and animals of his beloved Yorkshire Dales. He is gifted with total recall, and his stories reflect the laughter, sanity and constant compassion which he brings to his chosen way of life. Dust-jacket is price-clipped, with very minor bumping to a couple of corners and top/bottom of spine; jacket is in loose protective cover. A Very Good+ copy in a similar dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Collins. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1976. First Edition. Hardback. 0002224607 Written by the author of 'The Eagle Has Landed'. Storm Warning is an epic account of an act of reckless courage, set in August 1944, as the war in Europe enters its final throes and Germany faces defeat. Captain Berger, master of the German supply ship Deutschland, peacefully sailing up and down the coast of Brazil, decides to risk sailing home to Kiel, 5000 miles across oceans dominated by the Allied navies. Map illustrates the voyage. A very good read. Small circular mark to bottom corner of page edges. Dust-jacket has very slight yellowing and spine a little darkened; jacket is in loose protective cover. A Very Good+ copy in a similar dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Methuen. Good++.. 1943. First Edition. Hardback. This book, though an independent volume, is the third and final one of a North African trilogy, the previous volumes being 'The Place of Little Birds' and 'The House of Shade'. With map of North Africa. Well written by an author who clearly knows his North Africa and its people. Highly recommended - an excellent read. Blue boards, slightly rubbed at edges. A nice clean copy in Good++ condition. . more information

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London: Cassell. Fine/Near Fine. 1973. First Edition. Hardback. Jacket design by Chris Evans. It takes only one man to threaten an entire region with destruction. This thriller describes in chilling detail the ease with which nuclear holocaust can be created, not by nations at war, but in a remote and peaceful village. Dust-jacket has very minor rubbing to a couple of corners; jacket is in loose protective cover. A clean copy in Fine condition in a Near Fine dust-jacket. . more information

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Pan Books. Very Good.. 1980. Reprint. Paperback. 0330201077 Acclaimed throughout the world as the greatest spy story ever. A topical and terrible story of an English agent; here truly are the monstrous realities behind the news paragraphs which record the shifts and tensions of the Cold War... A Very Good copy. . more information

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London: Headline. Very Good.. 2000. 1st Paperback Edition. Paperback. 0747263809 437 pages. This book is a tale of swashbuckling adventure on the high seas, introducing a flamboyant and unorthodox hero of the Victorian era. Some creasing to covers and spine otherwise contents clean and a Very Good copy. . more information

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New York: Hippocrene Books. Mint/Mint. 1999. Reprint. Hardback. Frontispiece and 7 other lovely plates which bring the stories to life. Originally published in 1916, this collection of Russian folklore reflects both the simplicity of peasant life and the grandeur of tsars and palaces in old Russia. Readers young and old alike will be charmed by these folk legends that symbolically weave magic and fantasy with the historic events of Russia's past. A lovely copy in Mint condition in a Mint dust-jacket; jacket is in loose protective cover. . more information

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London: Collins. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1971. Reprint. Hardback. 0002211246 Provence is the setting for MacLean's latest thriller - Provence at the time of the annual pilgrimage to Saintes-Maries of gypsies from all over Europe, even from behind the Iron Curtain. The Duc de Croytor, distinguished folklorist and gastronome, is there of course. So is Englishman Neil Bowman, for no apparent cause... A gripping story - once started, it's very difficult to put down. Minor foxing spots to page edges. Dust-jacket has feint stain to a thin area at top and bottom of spine and slight rubbing reinforced with archival tape; jacket is in loose protective cover. A nice copy in Very Good+ condition in a similar dust-jacket. . more information

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Heinemann. Very Good.. 1951. First Edition. Hardback. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Volumes I and II. Vol. I: viii + 528 pages; red cloth boards with gilt - minor fading and marking; neat name to front free end paper (ffep). Vol. II: .viii + 529-1048 pages; red cloth with gilt - very slight area of fading to spine otherwise boards clean; neat name to ffep. Overall both volumes are Very Good copies. . more information

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London: Hamish Hamilton. Fine/Near Fine. 1991. First Edition. Hardback. From the author of the bestselling "A Year in Provence", this book proves beyond any doubt that while you may not be able to get away from it all, at least you can have fun trying. A number of interesting newpaper cuttings about "Toujours Provence" loosely inserted. Dust-jacket has very minor rubbing to top corners and top of spine; jacket is in loose protective cover. Overall a Fine copy in a Near Fine dust-jacket. . more information

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Athens. Very Good.. 1969. Paperback. Limited edition. 94pp. A stage play by Stavros Melissinos, well-known poet, playwright and translator. Illustrated, cream card covers; covers a little browned, mostly to spine. Inscription to half-title page. Four pages of contents are a bit browned, plus some browning to spine and rear cover. Overall a Very Good copy of this uncommon item. . more information

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Pan Books. Good+.. 1979. Reprint. Paperback. 0330258451 509 pages. Illustrated with maps and line drawings at the beginning of chapters. When Drake's fireships sailed against the Armada in the Calais Roads, it was the flawed courage of one man that imperilled his admiral's master stroke. That coward was Matthew Lawe, Drake's own coxswain. His cowardice brought upon him a curse - that he sail the seas for the rest of time to purge his guilt of one fatal day... Some rubbing to extremities and creases to spine. Contents clean. A Good+ copy. . more information

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London: Cresset Press. Very Good/Good. 1952. First Edition. Hardback. 125pp. By the author of 'A Rage to Live', etc. Pal Joey's unique contribution to literature consists of his letters to Friend Ted, a prosperous New York bandleader. Pal Joey is one of the happiest of John O'Hara's inventions; and though Joey's letters are witty trifles by comparison with O'Hara's novels, they are among the most engaging and the most cunningly finished of his works. Red cloth boards with gilt lettering; top of spine slightly faded. Contents have minor, scattered foxing spots throughout and on end papers and page edges. Dust-jacket has some rubbing to extremities, small chips to corners and bottom of spine, plus a small section missing from top of spine - all repaired with archival tape. Jacket is in a loose protective cover. A Very Good copy in a Good dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Cresset Press. Very Good+/Very Good. 1962. First Edition. Hardback. By the author of 'A Rage to Live'. 250pp. A man, who achieved great fame as a film star, but contrived his own downfall because he failed to deceive either himself or the world that he was "something he was not", is the subject of this novel. The author reveals with his customary candour, precision, and clinical detachment how it all happened, and gives in the process a devastating account of Hollywood at the peak of its phoney power and glory. Dust-jacket has minor rubbing to corners and top of spine, repaired with archival tape. Jacket has a few feint markings and is in a loose protective cover. A clean copy in Very Good+ condition in a Very Good dust-jacket. . more information

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Penguin. Very Good.. 1980. Reprint. Paperback. 0140008381 First published in 1945, this book has become the classic political fable of the 20th century. Adding his own brand of poignancy and wit, Orwell tells the story of a revolution among animals of a farm, and how idealism was betrayed by power, corruption and lies. A Very Good copy. . more information

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London: Chatto & Windus. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1967. First Edition. Hardback. This is a most unusual first novel. Isaak van Veldt, a giant of a man, has killed his sweetheart in Antwerp. He escapes from the city and flees to North Wales. Here, on a mountainside, he begins a new life. But things begin to go wrong, and eventually, with the next generation, tradedy returns. But as the wheel comes full circle, Isaak's regeneration is completed. The story balances Isaak's amost mystical feelings about the girl in Antwerp with the workaday detail of his struggle as a hill farmer. The Snowdon country is described with a sensuous vividness which makes it a superb background for this story of a man seeking to find and fulfil his destiny. Dust-jacket has minor rubbing to corners and top/bottom of spine all reinforced with archival tape; jacket is in loose protective cover. A nice copy in Very Good+ condition in a Very Good+ dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Harvill. Fine/Fine. 1992. First UK Edition. Hardback. 0002711931 Translated from the French and with a Glossary by Ralph Manheim. This book was winner of the Prix Concourt. Through a family chronicle - three generations of a middle-class family living on the French Atlantic coast - Jean Rouaud evokes the lingering heartache of a whole nation: the period is the interval between the two world wars, but the unforgiving slaughter of the First World War dominates the narrative like a brooding presence. Dust-jacket has very slight bumping to some corners and top of spine; jacket is in loose protective cover. Overall a lovely clean copy in Fine condition in a Fine dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Leonard and Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press. Very Good.. 1937. 3rd Impression. Hardback. 3rd impression, published December 1937. Frontispiece and 15 other illustrations. 282pp, + 4pp adverts at rear for other Vita Sackville-West titles. A fascinating account of Spanish family life from 1830-1936. The interest of this Spanish family is simply human. The author, Vita Sackville-West, states that nothing in the following pages is either invented or even embellished. The papers which have provided her with the material for the first part of this book owe their existence to the fact that in 1896 it became legally expedient for her grandfather's solicitors to take the evidence of a number of people in Spain who had been acquainted with the principal characters involved. Several issues were at stake, no less than an English peerage and an historic inheritance. Brown cloth boards with gilt, minor rubbing to some extremities. A few foxing spots to page edges. Otherwise a Very Good copy. . more information

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London: Leonard and Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press. Good.. 1930. First Edition. Hardback. 349pp. A novel set in the early 20th century. Interesting note from the author states that no character in this book is wholly fictitious. Orange cloth boards with gilt; front board has a few minor marks; slight darkening to edges of boards; and spine a bit faded. Some foxing spots to page edges otherwise contents clean. Front and rear free end papers browned. Overall a Good solid copy. . more information

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London: Faber. Very Good+/Good+. 1951. First Edition. Hardback. A quiet story, yet with its own kind of suspense. A Kindred Spirit is played in that most dramatic of all arenas - the mind and heart of a single individual. There are some who may be contemptuous of its protagonist, and ridicule her as a comic figure. There are others who will pity her. But there will be few who can forget her or the book shop called the 'Book Nook'. Pictorial dust-jacket has tiny chips and some closed tears all neatly repaired with archival tape; jacket is in protective cover. Overall a clean copy in Very Good+ condition in a Good+ dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Very Good+/Very Good. 1975. First Edition. Hardback. 0297768913 Written by the composer Donald Swann, "When I find life too frenetic, the outlines are beginning to blur and I can't tell if I'm on the telephone or at the keyboard, I grab a typewriter". That's how 'Swann's Way Out' happened. 133pp. A most interesting book. Dust-jacket is price-clipped and has a few marks on the inside; a few very tiny chips and closed tears repaired with archival tape; jacket is in loose protective cover. Overall this is still a nice clean copy in Very Good+ condition in a Very Good dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Methuen. Very Good+/Very Good+. 1985. First Edition Thus. Hardback. Illustrated with appealing line drawings by Caroline Holden. These diaries see Adrian through the worries of being an undiscovered intellectual and the traumas of adolescent love and on to the greater disasters of crises in his parents' marriage and life on the Social Security. The whole is at once painfully accurate and richly comic. Dust-jacket is price-clipped, has very minor rubbing to a couple of corners and 2 tiny scratches to spine; jacket is in loose protective cover. A Very Good+ copy in a similar dust-jacket. . more information

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London: Macmillan. Very Good++.. 1996. Reprint. Paperback. 0333642058 The complete reference for all writers and those involved in the media. 728pp including Index of Companies and Subject Index. 10th anniversary edition of the best-selling guide to all markets for creative writing. Over 5,000 entries tap every vein of opportunity in book and magazine publishing, newspapers, poetry, radio, theatre, TV, video and film, as well as giving information on agents, prizes, writers' circles, associations, festivals and much, much more. Neat inscription to front free end paper, otherwise a clean copy in Very Good++ condition. . more information

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London: Hogarth Press. Very Good.. 1942. First Edition. Hardback. With an Editorial Note by Leonard Woolf. 157pp, 28 essays in all. Essays include 'Jones and Wilkinson'; 'The Humane Art'; 'Sara Coleridge'; 'The Novels of E.M. Forster'; 'The Art of Biography'; and ''Professions for Women'. Blue cloth boards with gilt, cloth to spine and top edges of boards is somewhat faded - otherwise boards very nice and clean. Small Ex Libris label to front paste down. Very feint foxing spots to page edges, as well as front and rear prelims. Overall a Very Good copy. . more information

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