THE WITCHING HOUR. by RICE**, ANNE:

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.VG++/VG++.No owner inscrptn,but price- clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour photographic illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present. Head+foot of spine/backstrip minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing.Top wrap some stippling/indentats down through to board beneath it,less indentats to rear wrap and board is unaffected by any,beneath.Top+fore-edges lightly aged/toned - as usual/normal; contents bright,tight and clean,apart from light page-edge toning - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - an unread copy? Bright,clean,publisher's original,plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,5-965pp [paginated] includes Pts 1-4 comprising 54 chapters+epilogue; plus [unpaginated] b/w printer's device vignetted half-title page,b/w illustrated double-paged title page by Patricia Hardin,and dedication. Rowan Mayfair is a brilliant and beautiful neurosurgeon with an extraordinary power to heal - or to harm.Sailing off the coast of California,she rescues a drowning man,Michael Curry,whose brush with death leaves him with strange sensory powers,and images which bewilder him.These two form a passionate alliance,as they set out to find the key to his unwelcome gift and to her mysterious past.We are taken on a journey which moves from contemporary New Orleans to 17thC Scotland,Amsterdam and France,where the Comtesse de Montcleve throws herself from the parapet of a cathedral to cheat the flames of the Inquisition. . . .and from the coffee plantations of Port au Prince,where the great Mayfair fortune is made,to Civil War New Orleans and the establishment of the American line.With a dreamlike power,the novel draws us along the circuitous,twilight paths taken by the Mayfair dynasty - to the present.And brooding over it all is the magical and bewitching city of New Orleans,the setting for the startling climax to Rowan and Michael's own dramatic story. 'The Witching Hour' is yet another magnificent new departure for Anne Rice and demonstrates once again her unique gift for storytelling.This extraordinary family saga brings to life women of power and enchantment - encompassing dramas of tenderness and cruelty, murder and incest,innocence and corruption, within a powerfully seductive love story. Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight [approx 1.4 Kg unpackaged] of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!