The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, and Other Stories
[Modern Literature] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.[10]; 242; [4]. SIGNED by the author in black ink to title page. Publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt to spine, typographic dust-jacket with printed price of £14.99 to front flap. As new. One of only four authors to win the Booker Prize twice, Hilary Mantel was one of Britain's most accomplished modern authors. This short story collection is comprised of ten transgressive tales.
More from Adrian Harrington Ltd
The Beautiful and Damned
FITZGERALD, F. Scott (1896-1940) [American Literature] FIRST EDITION, second state/printing, with publisher's seal device to copyright page, ads to rear. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.x; 449; [1], blank; [2], ads; [2], blank. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine and blind to upper. Fore-edge untrimmed. Contents clean, no inscriptions. Text block toned as usual, cloth gently handled, gilt dulled. Very good. 'The Beautiful and the Damned' follows the decadent jazz age couple, Anthony and Gloria. Although their first three years of marriage are filled with excitement and joy, this soon evaporates as they begin to be repulsed by each others' hedonistic identities. Bruccoli. Listed in Modern Library's Top 100 Novels [1998].- $381
- $381
The Clocks
CHRISTIE, [Dame] Agatha (1890-1976) [Detective Novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.256. Publisher's red cloth with black lettering to spine, typographic dust-wrapper designed by Michael Harvey, priced at 16s. Fine in a very lightly worn jacket. Uncommon in such fresh condition. The son of Superintendent Battle, the long-time partner of Hercule Poirot, calls the Belgian detective to a quiet seaside resort to help unravel the murder of the man with the clocks, resulting in the most baffling puzzle of Poirot's careerâ"and one of Christie's most ingenious.- $452
- $452
A Time of Gifts. On foot to Constantinople: from the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube
FERMOR, Patrick Leigh (1915-2011) [Travel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.291. Bound in publisher's blue cloth with crane in gilt to front board, titles in gilt to spine. Pictorial dust wrapper depicts Fermor striding past ruins and castles into the sunset, continued to spine, blue rear cover with crane in flight. No inscriptions or price-clipping, edges slightly dusty, spine gently sunned. Near fine. An attractive copy of one of the most significant volumes of Fermor's enviable autobiography, in which the eighteen year-old Fermor sets out from school to walk to Constantinople, passing through a number of countries, including Germany, during Hitler's rise to power. The Works of Patrick Leigh Fermor featured in The Guardian's 'Greatest Travel Book' Selection [2011].- $323
- $323
The Springers
MATHER, Berkely [pseudonym of John WESTON-DAVIES] (1909-1996) [Spy Thriller] INSCRIBED FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY signed by the author. Octavo (21 x 14cm). Publisher's hardback cloth binding in pictorial dust-jacket illustrated by Alan Manham, priced at 21s. Inscribed by the author in blue ink to flyleaf: To all the Wiggingtons / with love from / the author / Jasper / Berkely Mather / The Banks / 4th August 1968. A clean, fine copy. Prison-break espionage novel involving British, Russian and Chinese intelligence agents. Berkely Mather's books were favourably reviewed by Ian Fleming for the Sunday Times, and, at Fleming's request, Mather later contributed to the screenplay for the first James Bond film 'Dr. No' (1962). This copy later formed part of the archive assembled by Jon Gilbert (pencil signature within). His comprehensive guide to the works of Ian Fleming (2012) won the 16th Breslauer Prize for bibliography.- $510
- $510
Travels in Tartary. Containing ‘One’s Company’ and ‘News from Tartary’
FLEMING, Peter (1907-1971) [Travel omnibus] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.603; [5], blank. Illustrated with maps and plates. Publisher's hardback cloth binding, top edge red, in illustrated dust-jacket priced 16s. Contents clean, edges and endleaves spotted, jacket is particularly clean and fresh. A fine copy of a scarce book. As special correspondent for The Times, Peter Fleming travelled from Moscow to Peking via the Caucasus, the Caspian, Samarkand, Tashkent, the Turksib Railway and the Trans-Siberian Railway to Peking. In the company of Swiss adventurer Ella Maillart, he then crossed from the capital through central China and into the north of the Indian subcontinent. The resulting narratives 'One's Company' (1934) and 'News from Tartary' (1936) were collected for the first time as 'Travels in Tartary'. Gilbert, p.618.- $614
- $614
Passage of Arms
AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998) [Gun-running thriller] FIRST US EDITION, ADVANCE COPY with exclusive 'Advertising' jacket. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.228. Publisher's salmon pink hardback cloth binding blocked in red and gilt, in typographic jacket with promotional blurb and text to front panel only. A fine copy in a near fine jacket with a little toning and browning to spine and extremities. A modern day pirate adventure, set in the South-Seas. This title was proof read by Ambler's novelist friend Ian Fleming, who was given an advance copy by the chairman of William Heinemann for the purposes of review. This copy is from the Otto Penzler collection, purchased by ourselves at Swann Auctions in 2010, with lot slip included. Gilbert D10, D14.- $161
- $161
Kuwait and Her Neighbours. Edited for publication by Clifford Witting
[Ian Fleming / Bondiana] DICKSON, H.R.P. (1881-1959) [Travel / history] FIRST EDITION. Large octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.192. Publisher's orange cloth, title gilt on green plaque to spine, top edge orange, sewn-cloth joints, illustrated dust jacket by Gross-Andre, repriced to 75s. With coloured frontispiece, 27 pages of black & white plates, 15 illustrations within the text, 2 maps and 12 genealogical tables (one folding). Rear cloth pocket contains 4 folding maps (one coloured), and 2 folding genealogical tables. Title page printed in two colours, with crossed red banners of the Emir. Contents clean, bookplate of C.D.J. Wythes, top edge gently sunned, some light spotting to edges, jacket is exceptionally clean and fresh. An unquestionably fine copy. Author's acclaimed and monumental second book, following 'The Arab of the Desert'. Lieutenant-Colonel Dickson was a British political agent based in the Gulf region. Born in Beirut, a son of John Dickson, the British Consul-General in Jerusalem, Dickson was educated at Oxford and carried out military service in Mesopotamia and government service in Bahrain and Kuwait. Upon leaving the army he was employed by the Kuwait Oil Company. In 1960, the company approached novelist Ian Fleming to write a book on the Gulf emirate, which was about to gain independence. His findings were less than romantic and the book was rejected for publication by its patrons. Fleming cited Dickson's 'Kuwait and Her Neighbours' as a source book. The present copy is from the comprehensive archive assembled by Jon Gilbert (pencil signature within). His encyclopaedic guide to the works of Ian Fleming (2012) won the 16th Breslauer Prize for bibliography. Three vintage Times newspaper clippings are tucked in, one being an obituary of The Ruler of Kuwait Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah (1965), and two earlier reports by 'a correspondent' (possibly Fleming). A later Sunday Times clipping (1997) about the banned book completes the story. Gilbert, section H, pp.588-90.- $1,744
- $1,744
One Shot. A Jack Reacher Novel
CHILD, Lee [pseudonym of GRANT, James Dover] (born 1954) [Thriller] SIGNED LIMITED EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[2] x; 376 [2]. Number 86 of just 100 copies thus, SIGNED by the author in black ink to limitation page. Publisher's green quarter cloth, with gilt titles to spine and marbled paper over boards. Lilac endpapers. A fine, as-new copy. The ninth Jack Reacher novel, and basis for the 2012 movie starring Tom Cruise. First published in 2005, this special edition contains a new introduction by the author. Lee Child has received multiple nominations for the prestigious Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, recognising best thriller of the year, and won the CWA's Diamond Dagger for a writer of outstanding body of crime fiction. Two blockbuster movies have been made from the Jack Reacher thrillers, plus the acclaimed Amazon Prime television series 'Reacher'.- $187
- $187
James Bond, the Authorized Biography of 007. A fictional biography by John Pearson
PEARSON, John (1930-2021) [Fictional biography] SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. Granada hardback reissue, first thus. Large octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.314. Publisher's tan in glossy dust-wrapper priced at £8.95. With author's non-specific presentation note to the title page; All best wishes, / Apr 89 John Pearson / [underline/flourish]. An excellent copy, virtually as new. Signed presentations are rare. A first-person biography of the fictional agent James Bond, from the biographer of his creator Ian Fleming. Although the canonical nature of this book has been debated by Bond fans since its publication, it was officially authorised by Glidrose Publications (Fleming's literary copyright holders). From the comprehensive archive assembled by Jon Gilbert (pencil ownership within). His encyclopaedic guide to the works of Ian Fleming (2012) won the 16th Breslauer Prize for bibliography. Gilbert, Jon; Ian Fleming: The Bibliography, pages 610, 649.- $510
- $510
The Night-Comers
AMBLER, Eric (1909-1998) [Thriller] FIRST EDITION, SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY, superb association. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[vi]; 233. Publisher's orange cloth with gilt titles to spine, in decorative dust-jacket designed by Judith Bledsoe, priced at 13/6. With author's ink note to flyleaf; Roy and Joan. / with love / Eric. The recipient is the film director Roy Ward Baker, a close friend of Ambler, and his wife Joan. Top edge dusty otherwise fine in jacket. Ambler's 1956 suspense novel was favourably reviewed by Ian Fleming for The Sunday Times. Roy Ward Baker (1916-2010) had served in the Army Kinematograph Service (AKS) under Eric Ambler, who gave him his first big break directing The October Man (1947), then Highly Dangerous (1950), both from Ambler screenplays. He was assistant director for Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938), and made over forty feature films including Tiger In the Smoke (1956), A Night to Remember (1958) and Quatermass & the Pit (1967), directing stars such as Marilyn Monroe, John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Bette Davis, Christopher Lee and Denholm Elliott. He was also a successful television director, his credits including The Saint (1963-8), The Avengers (1965-8), The Persuaders (1971-2), Jason King (1971-2), Return of The Saint (1978) and Minder (1979-89). From the Jon Gilbert Collection. HUBIN; Crime Fiction IV p26-7. Gilbert; Ian Fleming The Bibliography pp.545, 634.- $969
- $969
