Literature
Rare and first edition literature from Peter Harrington. On our shelves you'll discover rare poetry, English, American & modern literature, pre-1900 rare books, plays, world literature and much more.
From the blog: Nightingales and Roses: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Video: [PUTTENHAM, George.] The Arte of English Poesie. 1589.
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DANTE ALIGHIERI. The Vision; or Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.London : 1819
Second and best edition of one of the most important translations of Dante of the Romantic era, following the very scarce first edition which appeared in 1814 in such a diminutive format that it was barely legible.
"In January 1797 Cary began his translation of Dante's Divina commedia into blank verse. He started with the Purgatorio in 1797-8,... Learn More£2,750.00Stock Code: 146519
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RADCLIFFE, Anne. The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Romance;London : 1794
First edition of one of the founding texts of Gothic literature, the fourth and most popular novel by Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823), pioneer of the Gothic novel. Through The Mysteries of Udolpho, Radcliffe is particularly responsible for popularizing the "haunted castle" Gothic trope, Udolpho being directly parodied in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, and... Learn More£10,000.00Stock Code: 146531
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McCULLERS, Carson. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.Boston : 1940
First edition, first printing, first state jacket (with Summer's Lease advertised on rear flap), and a particularly sharp copy of McCullers's sensational debut novel. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was ranked by The Modern Library as number 17 in its 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
The jacket has the called-for "Summer's Lease"... Learn More£3,000.00Stock Code: 145674
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DICKENS, Charles. Master Humphrey's Clock.London : 1840-41
First edition in book form of what Gordon Ray describes as "the pinnacle of Dickensian Gothic". He goes on to note that Phiz (H. K. Browne) "is in excellent form" and that George Cattermole's "wonderful clutter of antiquarian or architectural detail is well suited to Dickens's chosen subjects".
Master Humphrey was a publishing experiment on Dickens's... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 148090
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DICKENS, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit.London : 1844
First edition, bound from the original parts as published from December 1842 to July 1844, with the stab-holes visible; handsomely bound.
Dickens's biographer places Martin Chuzzlewit as marking "a great change in Dickens's conception of moral characteristics... For the first time Dickens begins to explore the contradictions and difficulties... Learn More£875.00Stock Code: 147988
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DICKENS, Charles. Our Mutual Friend.London : 1865
First edition of Dickens's last completed novel, bound from the original parts as issued from May 1864 to November 1865, with the stab-holes visible; handsomely bound.
"Our Mutual Friend had a mixed reception (the young Henry James's harshly dismissive review in The Nation is notorious) but its stock has risen dramatically in recent years and... Learn More£600.00Stock Code: 147990
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DICKENS, Charles. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.London : 1839
First edition, bound from the original monthly parts as published from April 1838 to October 1839, with the stab-holes visible; handsomely bound.
Dickens had been catapulted to fame with the success of The Pickwick Papers, and to secure his next novel Chapman and Hall offered Dickens 150 a part, a sum ten times greater than that which he had... Learn More£975.00Stock Code: 147836
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GOREY, Edward. Lucky Little People.No place : 1973
First and only edition, signed by Gorey on the title, of this complete cut-out set of characters, issued in conjunction with the publication of Rumpelstiltskin (1973) retold by Edith H. Tarcov. Interestingly, no second set was produced, nor was Gorey given credit for designing the cut-out figures. Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 147958
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DICKENS, Charles. Bleak House.London : 1853
First edition, bound from the original parts as issued between March 1852 and September 1853; handsomely bound.
"The satire of Bleak House focuses on the obfuscations and delays of the court of chancery which result in widespread human misery and suffering, but the novel's complicated plot and centripetal organization bring into the picture a... Learn More£950.00Stock Code: 147834
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CARNEVALI, Emanuel. A Hurried Man.Paris : [1925]
First edition, first impression, of the only work by Italian writer Emanuel Carnevali (1897-1942) to be published in his lifetime. This book is uncommonly found, especially in such good condition.
After moving to the United States in 1914 at the age of 16, Carnevali became friends with poets such as William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound and... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 147823
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DICKENS, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities.London : 1859
First edition, bound from the original monthly parts as published from June to December 1859, with the stab-holes visible; this copy with the earlier state of p. 213 misnumbered "113" and the signature "b" present on the list of plates, as preferred by collectors.
Dickens's great historical romance, set during the French Revolution, remains one... Learn More£5,000.00Stock Code: 147826
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LE GUIN, Ursula K. Threshold.London : 1980
First edition, first impression, inscribed on the title page to the Australian science fiction writer "To John Baxter, Ursula K. Le Guin".
Loosely inserted is a press cutting from a winter 1980 issue, reviewing this book. Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 147784
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AUDEN, W. H., & Louis Macneice. Letters from Iceland.London : 1937
First edition, first impression, inscribed by Auden on the title page "For William Gray, with love from Wystan". This is a lovely association copy of this pre-war travelogue, collaboratively written by Isherwood and Auden in prose and verse respectively.
The recipient, Dr William ("Woods") Shelton Gray, Jr (1926-1993), fostered friendships with... Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 147786
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FRASER, George MacDonald. Flashman's First Omnibus.London : 1979
First omnibus edition, first impression, signed by the author on the title page. The Flashman novels comprise 12 books featuring the eponymous anti-hero, which Fraser adapted from Tom Brown's School Days. Learn More£450.00Stock Code: 147777
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DEIGHTON, Len. Billion Dollar Brain.London : 1966
First edition, first impression, of the fourth and last Harry Palmer novel, rarely fond in the jacket and in collector's condition. Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 147768
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DEIGHTON, Len. Funeral in Berlin.London : 1964
First edition, first impression, of the third Harry Palmer novel, with the scarce wraparound band advertising the 1966 film starring Michael Caine. Learn More£275.00Stock Code: 147774
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MELVILLE, Herman. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale.New York : 1851
First American edition, in the first binding with orange endpapers and the publisher's device stamped centrally on the sides. The interest in this defective copy lies in the fact that it has been used by the notorious forger Mark Hofmann to fake an authorial inscription: "Respectfully yours, Herman Melville, Pittsfield Oct. 12, 1869".
Hofmann... Learn More£4,500.00Stock Code: 90006
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PLATH, Sylvia. Ariel.London : 1965
First edition, first impression. Plath's most enduring poetry book, published two years after her suicide, edited by Ted Hughes and with an introduction by Robert Lowell. Plath believed her Ariel poems to be the best she had ever produced, "announcing to her mother that 'they will make my name'" (ODNB). Learn More£1,575.00Stock Code: 144272
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FORSTER, E. M. Howards End.London : 1910
First edition, first impression, second issue with publisher's advertisements. The novel was the basis for the 1992 Oscar-winning film of the same title. Learn More£1,850.00Stock Code: 134793
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MORRIS, William (contrib.), and others. The Quest.Birmingham : 1894-96
First editions, first impressions, each issue is one of 300 copies only with the first five issues numbered 172, and the sixth one numbered 171. The contributors include William Morris, Claude Napier-Clavering, E. A. Sonnenschein, and Arthur Dixon, among others. Complete sets, as here, of this profusely and superbly illustrated arts and crafts periodical... Learn More£2,750.00Stock Code: 147861
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HOUSMAN, Clemence. The Were-Wolf.London & Chicago : 1896.
First edition, first issue, of "one of the best werewolf stories" (Bleiler), uncommon in such good condition.
The Were-Wolf features Laurence Housman's last illustrations, by 1898 he had "stopped producing book illustration since the strain of his intricate drawings affected his poor eyesight" (Zipes). Learn More£850.00Stock Code: 147863
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BRYHER. Civilians.Territet : 1927
First edition, sole printing, of the author's fourth novel, and the only Bryher novel to be published by her own publisher, Pool.
Bryher was the pen name of Annie Winifred Ellerman (1894-1983). She moved in the 1920s Parisian circles of artists and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Gertrude Stein. Her wealth... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 147930
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GREENE, Graham. Travels with my Aunt.London : 1969
First edition, first impression, inscribed on the title page "For George B illegible, from Graham Greene". Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 147813
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RACKHAM, Arthur (illus.); SHAKESPEARE, William. A Midsummer-Night's Dream.London : 1908
First Rackham edition, signed limited issue, number 578 of 1,000 copies signed by the artist and released for sale in Great Britain and Ireland. Learn More£1,950.00Stock Code: 147819
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BORGES, Jorge Luis. The Congress.London : 1974
First edition in English in book form, number 82 of 250 copies prepared on Glastonbury Book Antique paper, this copy is additionally signed by Borges on the front free endpaper.
An additional 50 copies were signed by Borges and the translator, and printed on Glastonbury Coloured Antique Laid paper. The English translation was first published... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 147822
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LE CARRÉ, John. The Clandestine Muse.Portland, Oregon : 1986
First edition, first printing, one of 10 hors commerce presentation copies signed by the author on the colophon, from a total edition of 260 copies privately printed at the Janus Press, Vermont.
This is the text from a John Le Carré lecture on writing which he delivered at the John Hopkins University in May 1986. Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 147825
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SEWELL, Anna. Black Beauty.London : 1915
First Kemp-Welch edition, first impression, in an attractive Sangorski & Sutcliffe binding, of this much-loved equine novel. First published in 1877, this Victorian classic was the only book of its bedridden author, who died shortly after its publication, much too soon to appreciate its slowly accumulated worldwide success. Learn More£600.00Stock Code: 147828
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GREENE, Graham. The Comedians.London : 1966
First UK edition, first impression, presentation copy inscribed on the front free endpaper to an unidentified recipient "For Aillegible Chillegible, from his complicated client, Graham Greene, Christmas 1965". The Comedians, first published in the US the same year, was the basis for the 1967 film of the same name, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 147837
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CICERO, Marcus Tullius. De Officiis.London : 1902
First Humphreys edition, first impression, in an elegant binding in the style of Douglas Cockerell.
In 1893 Cockerell was apprenticed to T. J. Cobden-Sanderson at the Doves Bindery in Hammersmith, before setting up his own bindery in 1897. "The construction of Cockerell's bindings followed the standards set by Cobden-Sanderson, but he had his... Learn More£600.00Stock Code: 147859
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PULLMAN, Philip. His Dark Materials.London : 2001
First omnibus edition, first impression, of Pullman's award-winning series, signed by the author on the title page.
This copy has the printed "Letter of Acknowledgement" loosely inserted, as issued. The Amber Spyglass won the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year award, being the first children's book to do so, while the His Dark Materials trilogy... Learn More£350.00Stock Code: 147769
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HEMINGWAY, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises.New York : 1926
First edition, first printing, the first issue with the misprints "stoppped" on p. 181, l. 26, "down-staris" on p. 169, line 34, and the third book being designated as "BOOK THREE" instead of "BOOK III" (p. 235), with the first issue dust jacket, incorrectly citing Hemingway's earlier title as In Our Times.
Hemingway's second novel is a roman... Learn More£65,000.00Stock Code: 118495
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YEATS, W. B. Cathleen ni hoolihan.Chiswick : 1902
First edition in book form, first impression, uncommon in such good condition and in the original glassine. The play was first printed earlier the same year in Samhain, the magazine edited by Yeats. Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 148002
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AUDEN, W. H. Poems.London : 1930
First edition, first impression, in unusually unrestored condition and rare thus. Poems was printed in a run of 1,000 copies. In addition to poetry, this work contains the play "Paid on Both Sides: A Charade", which is dedicated to Cecil Day-Lewis and was written during Auden's stay in Berlin from 1928 to 1929. Learn More£875.00Stock Code: 147943
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COPE, Wendy. Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis.London : 1986
First edition, first impression, presentation copy inscribed on the title page to the poet and counterculture figure, Felix Dennis (1947-2014) "To Felix from a poet who enjoys your work, Wendy Cope", and with Dennis's bookplate to the front pastedown. This is a lovely association copy. Learn More£275.00Stock Code: 147945
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JHABVALA, Ruth Prawer. To Whom She Will.London : 1955
First edition, first impression, of the author's first book, signed by the author on the title page.
Jhabvala was born to German Jewish parents in 1927, the family fleeing to London prior to the Second World War. For twenty-four years from 1951 she lived in India, marrying an Indian architect and writing novels that reflected her "insider-outsider"... Learn More£475.00Stock Code: 147973
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MANN, Thomas. A Sketch of My Life.Paris : 1930
First edition in English, number 52 of 75 copies on Imperial Japan vellum, signed by the author, with the errata slip on the limitation page. Mann's autobiographical sketch was originally published in German as "Lebensabriß" in Die Neue Rundschau, June 1930, and is translated here by H. T. Lowe-Porter. Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 147995
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(FLINT, William Russell.) MALORY, Thomas. Le Morte D'Arthur.London : 1920
First trade edition with Flint's illustrations, following the four-volume privately printed edition of 1910-1911. Uncommon in the dust jackets. Learn More£875.00Stock Code: 147996
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![[The Lark: issues 1-24.] "Who'll be the Clerk?" "I!" said The Lark:](https://d3dzzbbvj9im7s.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/ae0834d12b7cf129fc73bcc000ea526a/1/4/147999.jpg)
BURGESS, Gelett (ed.) [The Lark: issues 1-24.] "Who'll be the Clerk?" "I!" said The Lark:San Francisco : 1896-97
First editions of the complete run of this American arts and crafts periodical which was a great contribution to the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, by the American artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist, Frank Gelett Burgess (1866-1951).
Burgess is best known as a writer of nonsense verse, such as "The Purple... Learn More£375.00Stock Code: 147999
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DEIGHTON, Len. [Hook, Line & Sinker trilogy:] Spy Hook; Spy Line; Spy Sinker.London : 1988-8990
First editions, first impressions, of Deighton's sequel to the first Bernard Samson novels, Berlin Game (1983), Mexico Set (1984), and London Match (1985). Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 147766
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POGANY, Willy (illus.); GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von. Faust.London : 1908
First Pogany edition, first impression, of Goethe's Faust in a superb Bayntun binding. The US edition was published the same year. Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 147818
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BYRON, George Gordon Noel, Lord. Marino Faliero.London : 1821
First edition, second issue, with the Doge's speech on p. 151 starting "His crimes!" and lasting seven lines (changed from the first issue beginning "What crimes?" followed by five-and-a-half lines, in a superb contemporary binding.
Marino Falerio is a verse tragedy written by Byron after visiting the Palazzo Ducale in Venice and discovering... Learn More£250.00Stock Code: 147916
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CORNWELL, Bernard. Sharpe's Eagle.London : 1981
First edition, first impression, of the first book in the Richard Sharpe series. Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 147927
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CORNWELL, Bernard. Sharpe's Eagle.London : 1981
First edition, first impression, of the first book in the Richard Sharpe series, signed by Cornwell on a loosely inserted paper slip. Learn More£250.00Stock Code: 147929
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DUNN, Katherine. Geek Love.New York : 1989
First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author on the title page "For Moonyean with the beautiful name. Katherine Dunn". Learn More£450.00Stock Code: 147941
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FRASER, George MacDonald. Quartered Safe Out Here.London : 1992
First edition, first impression. Fraser's acclaimed section-level account of his service with the Border Regiment in the Burma Campaign. Described by John Keegan as without doubt "one of the great personal memoirs of the Second World War", and by David Mamet as a "magnificent war memoir". Learn More£75.00Stock Code: 147710
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FRASER, George MacDonald. Flashman on the March.Lonodn : 2005
First edition, first impression, number 473 of 1000 copies signed by the author on the limitation page. The Flashman novels comprise 12 books featuring the eponymous anti-hero, which Fraser adapted from Tom Brown's School Days. Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 147711
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WOOLF, Virginia. The Years.London : 1937
First edition, first impression, of Woolf's penultimate novel, and the most popular of her novels during her lifetime.
Woolf began The Years in the early 1930s as a novel-essay entitled The Pargiters. Woolf subsequently divided it into two parts, with the fiction portion reworked into The Years and the essay portion the basis for Three Guineas.... Learn More£650.00Stock Code: 147720
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AUDEN, W. H. Another Time.London : 1940
First UK edition, first impression, of Auden's poems containing among others "Musée des Beaux Arts" and "In Memory of W. B. Yeats". Another Time was published simultaneously in the US. Learn More£675.00Stock Code: 147732
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NICOLSON, Harold. Public Faces. A Novel.London : 1932
First edition, first impression, of Nicolson's great (and, from the jacket blurb, seemingly prophetic) political novel: "Staged in the Foreign Office, the book describes how, during the first week of June, 1939, Great Britain becomes involved in an international crisis, which exposes her to the alternative of complete humiliation or of war against a... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 147737
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DESCLOS, Anne, as Pauline Reage. Histoire d'O.Sceaux [Paris] : 1954
First edition, one of 480 numbered copies "sur vergé", from an edition of 600. Published as Pauline Réage, the author was the French journalist and novelist Anne Desclos (1907-1998), who also used the pseudonym Dominique Aury.
Its sadomasochistic content caused a scandal on publication and both Pauvert and Jean Paulhan (who was Desclos's lover... Learn More£400.00Stock Code: 147740
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DEIGHTON, Len. SS-GB Nazi Occupied Britain.1978
First edition, first impression, inscribed on a blank sticker pasted to the title page "For Nick, thanks and best wishes Len Deighton". Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 147688
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BORGES, Jorge Luis. Historia de la eternidad.Buenos Aires : 1936
First edition, first printing, with 29 April 1936 date and "Francisco A. Colombo" on the colophon, of Borges' sixth collection of non-fiction essays on various topics such as time, eternity, the art of translation, and the Icelandic kennigar. This title is uncommonly found in the original wrappers. Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 147690
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BORGES, Jorge Luis. Discusion.Buenos Aires : 1932
First edition, first printing, of this collection of 15 essays on wide ranging topics such as philosophy, literary criticism, and epistemology. Discusion was expanded and republished in 1957 as the sixth volume of his Complete Works, a project that began in 1953. Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 147691
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FRASER, George MacDonald. The Sheikh and the Dustbin.London : 1988
First edition, first impression, signed by the author on the title page, rare thus. Learn More£375.00Stock Code: 147699
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FRASER, George MacDonald. The General Danced at Dawn.London : 1970
First edition, second impression, signed by the author on the title page. Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 147705
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FRASER, George MacDonald. The Light's on at Signpost.London : 2002
First edition, first impression, signed by the author on the title page. Learn More£75.00Stock Code: 147708
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DEIGHTON, Len - Edward Milward-Olivier. Len Deighton: An Annotated Bibliography, 1954-1985.London : 1985
First edition, signed limited issue, number 174 of 375 copies signed by Len Deighton. The bibliography includes a 4,000 word interview with Deighton. This copy also has a signed uncorrected page proof housed in the publisher's printed paper sleeve. Learn More£350.00Stock Code: 147677
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DEIGHTON, Len. [Trilogy:] Berlin Game; Mexico Set; London Match.London : 1983-84-85
First editions, first impressions, all inscribed "to Liz" and signed by Deighton on the title or half-title. The first three of the Bernard Samson novels. Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 147682
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AMIS, Kingsley, as Lt.-Col. William ("Bill") Tanner. The Book of Bond or Every Man His Own 007: With Reversible Bookjacket for Work in the Field.London : 1965
First edition, first impression. Written under a pseudonym, Amis's tongue-in-cheek work is a manual for prospective agents to live like James Bond, wittily illustrated with examples from the Fleming canon. The dust jacket is reversible, entitled on the verso as The Bible to be Read as Literature - a play on a scene in Goldfinger, in which Bond carries... Learn More£150.00Stock Code: 143897
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BROWNING, Elizabeth Barrett. Sonnets from the Portuguese.Venice : 1906
An attractive miniature copy of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's love sonnets, written in the first years of her falling in love with Robert Browning, first published in 1850. The Venetian publisher S. Rosen produced literary souvenirs for the latter-day Grand Tourist. Learn More£150.00Stock Code: 146979
