The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales

Gantt, Alabama: Whipporwill Publishers, 1973. First edition. Fine/Fine. A Fine book in like jacket, with very slight foxing to the closed textblock and a miniscule closed tear to the bottom edge of the rear jacket panel. In all, an exceptional copy of this scarce Southern novel.

Josey Wales is a tale of vengeance, following the title character's transformation from peaceful midwestern farmer to rebel vigilante following the murder of his family by a gang of Unionists during the Civil War. Joining forces with Confederate outlaws sympathetic to his hatred of the Northern army, he ultimately refuses to surrender at the war's end and disappears into the South to begin a new life. The Rebel Outlaw: Josey Wales was the basis for the breakout Clint Eastwood film of the same name, for which Eastwood himself bought the rights, directed, and starred. The novel's scarcity is directly linked to its Hollywood history, in fact, as one of the conditions of sale on the movie rights dictated that the book's first edition run be pulped in anticipation of the film release. Carter's book would later reappear on the market under a new title, Gone to Texas. The present remains a high spot for collectors of books-to-film and Southern literature. Fine in Fine dust jacket.