Clearwater Books

MARGARET ATWOOD. The Robber Bride. A novel. Bloomsbury, London 1993. First UK edition, issued the same year as the Canadian and US editions. This copy signed by the author on the half-title. 8vo. 470pp. Ribbon place marker. A tiny crease to the tip of the rear free endpaper, else a fine copy in dust wrapper with a tiny hint of near-invisible wear to one or two extremities. £50

MARGARET ATWOOD. Stone Mattresses. Nine Tales. Bloomsbury, London 2014. First UK edition, issued the same year as the Canadian and US editions. This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 273pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. Nine stories, including I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth which serves as a sequel to her 1993 novel The Robber Bride. £50

A.L.BARKER. The Gooseboy. A novel. Hutchinson, London 1987. First edition – this copy inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper and dated 1990. 8vo. 151pp.  Spine ends very lightly rubbed and with a near-invisible hint of spotting to the pastedowns and endpapers. Very good indeed in very good price-clipped dust wrapper, with a little corresponding rubbing to the spine panel ends and a single tiny area of staining. The author’s eighth novel. £35

ALAN BENNETT. The Uncommon Reader. Faber and Profile Books, London 2007. The deluxe issue of the first edition, one of an unspecified number of copies signed by the author and housed in a slipcase. Small 8vo. 124pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper and cloth-covered slipcase. A lengthy short story, which was first published in The London Review of Books in 2006. £75

JOHN BETJEMAN. Old Lights for New Chancels. Verses Topographical and Amatory. John Murray, London 1940. First edition of the author’s third full-length collection of verse. This copy signed by the author on the front free endpaper and with a pencilled note in another hand to the base of the front pastedown: “Signed September 6th 1967 at 43, Cloth Fair EC1”. Small 8vo. xix, 67pp + [i] publisher’s advertisement. Blue pebbled cloth with a paper spine label and a silk place marker. With a frontispiece silhouette of the author, unaccredited but supplied by John Piper (Piper refused a credit, deeming his work “only a tracing”). Top edge lightly spotted and with just a touch of toning to the spine label and some light browning and spotting to the free endpapers. A very good copy in dust wrapper, tanned at the spine panel, a little marked and soiled in places, with an inch of loss from the base of the spine panel and several further tiny fractions of loss from the corner tips. An eight-page preface by the author precedes twenty-five poems, including the five Sir John Piers poems which were originally issued in 1938 under his ‘Epsilon’ pseudonym. With a printed dedication to M[yfanwy] et J[ohn] Piper – the former featuring in the poems Myfanwy and Myfanwy at Oxford. Peterson A8a.  £300

JOHN BETJEMAN. Ghastly Good Taste; or a Depressing Story of the Rise and Fall of English Architecture. Anthony Blond, London 1970. The deluxe issue of the expanded second edition, designed by Sebastian Carter and limited to 200 numbered copies, signed by the author (this being #75). 4to. xxviii, 112pp. Quarter leather with cloth-covered sides. A tiny hint of chafing to the backstrip leather, else a fine copy. No dust wrapper called for, but housed in the original cloth-covered slipcase. Betjeman’s second book, Ghastly Good Taste was first published in 1933. This expanded edition includes An Aesthete's Apologia, a new sixteen page introduction by the author, and Peter Fleetwood-Hesketh's splendid folding illustration is here enlarged from forty inches to a scarcely credible nine feet. £350

JOHN BETJEMAN. Uncollected Poems. With a foreword by Bevis Hillier. John Murray, London 1982. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the half-title in a somewhat shaky hand. Slim 8vo. 81pp. In fine state with dust wrapper, a little creased at the head of the spine panel and with just a hint of chafing to the tips of two corners.  The publisher’s red spine panel colouring fractionally faded. Twenty-nine poems, mostly gathered from the archives of Columbia University Library, and edited here by Betjeman with the assistance of John Sparrow, and augmented with an interesting fourteen-page foreword by JB’s friend and biographer, Bevis Hillier. £125

ALAN BLEASDALE. Scully. A novel. Hutchinson, London 1975. First edition of Bleasdale’s first book. A presentation copy, inscribed by the author to Dallas Cavell, lead actor in the author’s first state play Fat Harold and the Last 26, which premièred at the Liverpool Playhouse on April Fool’s Day 1975. 8vo. 215pp. Top edge lightly dust soiled and with a narrow strip of tanning to the extreme upper margin of the text leaves. A very good copy in virtually fine pictorial dust wrapper, with a touch of toning to the flaps. A slip of paper detailing the cast and crew of Bleasdale’s stage debut has been pasted to the front free endpaper beneath his inscription. A splendid presentation copy of Bleasdale’s first book, based on stories originally written to entertain his pupils in a secondary modern school where he taught for four years, and later broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside and the basis for later stage and television plays, and a seven-part television series. £175

PETER CAREY. Illywhacker. Faber, London 1985. First English edition – this copy inscribed by the author on the title page. A hint of spotting to top and fore edge, else in fine state with virtually fine dust wrapper, just fractionally rubbed at head and base of spine panel and lightly spotted internally. Carey’s second novel, short-listed for the Booker Prize. £35

J.L.CARR. A Month in the Country. Cornucopia Press, London 1990. The second edition of Carr’s classic, with a slightly revised text and a new foreword by the author. Issued in a limitation of 300 numbered copies signed by the author and by Ronald Blythe who provides an introduction. Printed on mould-made paper by The September Press. Crown 4to. 105pp. Top edge gilt. Former owner gift inscription to the half-title, else a fine copy in the original unprinted acetate protector, just a little nicked at the head of the spine panel. £300

TRACY CHEVALIER. Girl with a Pearl Earring. HarperCollins, Londonn 1999. First edition– this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 248pp. The tips of two corners just fractionally bumped. A virtually fine copy in the correct first state dust wrapper (with ‘earring’ misspelt on the rear panel), with just a touch of chafing to the spine panel ends and with a light crease to the front flap. A super copy of the author’s hugely successful second novel: a fictional account of Vermeer, his painting of the same name, and the model. £250

A.E.COPPARD. Pink Furniture. A Tale for Lovely Children with Nobel Natures.  Jonathan Cape, London 1930. The deluxe issue of the first edition, limited to 250 specially bound and numbered copies, signed by the author (this being #107). 8vo. 251pp. Full white vellum, lettered in gold at spine. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. With twenty-five full-page captioned drawings by Nancy Bankart Gurney. Vellum just a little marked in places, and board edges lifting a little. Some fox spotting to preliminary and concluding text leaves. A very good copy, lacking the dust wrapper. £50

MALCOLM COWLEY. Exile’s Return. A Literary Odyssey of the 1920’s. With an introduction by Leon Edel and illustrated with contemporary photographs. The Limited Editions Club, New York 1981. First edition thus, one of 2,000 numbered copies (this being #1813) signed by both the author and the photographer Berenice Abbott. Tall 8vo. 281pp. Cloth-backed decorated paper-covered boards. Illustrated with twelve full-page photogravures by Abbott, Man Ray, André Kertész, Alvin Coburn and Walker Evans. A fine copy in slipcase, lacking the original unprinted glassine protector, but with a fresh sheet supplied. The first signed limited edition of Cowley’s celebrated lyrical memoir of the Lost Generation (first published in 1934, and here including the author’s prologue and epilogue which he wrote for the revised edition of 1951). £75

ROBERTSON DAVIES. The Cunning Man. Viking, London 1995. First UK edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. Large 8vo. 469pp. Tip of one corner bumped and with a minor slant to the binding. Boards fractionally marked in one or two places, yet a lovely bright copy internally, housed in slightly edge worn, marked and creased dust wrapper. The author’s final novel and, his publisher maintains, the second volume of his incomplete ‘Toronto trilogy’, part one of which was Murther and Walking Spirits. The magnificent Davies sadly died in the December of the year this UK edition was published. £25

ROGER DEAKIN. Waterlog. A Swimmer’s Journey Through Britain. With illustrations by David Holmes. Chatto & Windus, London 1999. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the half-title and dated the year of publication, and additionally inscribed beneath “For Alan and Diane with thanks and warmest wishes, Wells [next-the-Sea], 3rd October 2000”. The recipients of Deakin’s inscription are Alan Byford and his wife, co-founders of the Poetry-Next-the-Sea Festival. 8vo. 357pp. Some spotting to the top- and fore edge, and with a narrow strip of browning to two adjacent text leaves, presumably from where a bookmark was once in situ. A very good copy in virtually fine dust wrapper, very lightly chafed to the upper edge. The author’s first book, and the only one published in his lifetime, a quite wonderful account of his free swimming exploits across the UK which was in part responsible for the founding of the open water swimming movement. £250

JUNOT DÍAZ. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Faber, London 2008. First UK edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 339pp. Card wrappers (there was no casebound issue of either the UK or US first edition). A fine copy. The author’s second book and first novel, following his short story collection Drown (1996): the winner of multiple awards including the Pulitzer Prize. £35

NORMAN DOUGLAS. How About Europe? Some Footnotes on East and West. Privately printed by the author [Tipografia Classica, Florence] 1929. First edition, limited to 550 numbered and signed copies, this one additionally inscribed by the author on the title page and dated 1933. 8vo. 216pp. Patterned paper-covered boards with a paper spine label. Fore- and bottom edges untrimmed. Spine ends rubbed and just a touch of tanning to backstrip and spotting to endpapers. A very good copy, lacking the uncommon dust wrapper. £75

LAWRENCE DURRELL. The Alexandria Quartet. Faber, London 1962. The special edition of the first single-volume edition, limited to 500 numbered and signed copies. A short preface by Durrell details a few minor textual alterations. 8vo. 884pp. Full buckram with a black hand motif to upper board. Cloth at backstrip lightly faded, else in fine state with original unprinted protector and decorated slipcase, a little chafed at extremities. Marred only by a somewhat over bold former owner gift inscription to front endpaper. £600

ISOBEL ENGLISH. Life After All and Other Stories. Martin Brian & O’Keeffe, London 1973. First edition. This copy signed by the author on the title page, and with her contemporary presentation inscription on the front free endpaper to fellow author Francis Wyndham, signed using her real name June [Braybrooke]. 8vo. 142pp. Top edge very lightly dust soiled and with a tiny hint of partial toning to the free endpapers. A virtually fine copy in dust wrapper, lightly chafed at the upper and lower edges, and with a touch of fading to the publisher’s spine panel lettering. Thirteen stories, the author’s fourth book and first collection of short fiction (written at the urging of Elizabeth Bowen). Curiously uncommon, and much more so with these attributes. £125

HERB GARDNER. A Piece of the Action. A novel. Simon & Schuster, New York 1958. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 313pp. Cloth-backed boards. Boards very lightly marked in one or two places and with a sliver of discolouration to the upper edge of the rear board. A short crease to the corner of a single text leaf. A very good copy in dust wrapper, a little soiled and spotted and with a three-inch tear to the base of the rear panel, a single short tear to the head of the front panel and several small areas of loss from the spine ends and one or two other extremities. The only novel by the noted playwright and cartoonist, a semi-autobiographical satire on the world of advertising. £150

WILLIAM GOLDING. Pincher Martin. Faber, London 1956. First edition – this copy signed by the author by way of a bookplate pasted to the front free endpaper. 8vo. 208pp. The gilt spine lettering very slightly defective and with a touch of dust soiling to the top edge, and just the ghost of an almost entirely erased former owner inscription. A very crisp copy in the Anthony Gross-designed double-spread pictorial dust wrapper, a little nicked at spine ends with several tiny fractions of loss. Small dealer plate to the front pastedown, obscured by the wrapper flap. The author’s third novel – an existential classic. £300

GÜNTER GRASS. The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising. A German Tragedy. A play. With an introductory address by the author. Translated from the German of Die Plebejer Proben den Aufstand by Ralph Manheim. Secker & Warburg, London 1967. First UK edition. This copy signed by the author on the front free endpaper. 8vo. 122pp. Edges fractionally spotted.  Tiny dealer plate to the front pastedown (obscured by the wrapper flap). A virtually fine copy in double-spread pictorial dust wrapper featuring a design by the author, fractionally toned at several extremities. The author’s fourth play, it premiered at the Berlin Schillertheater on 15 January 1966. An English language version was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych Theatre in 1970. £50

GÜNTER GRASS. From the Diary of a Snail. Translated from the German of Aus dem Tagebuch einer Schnecke by Ralph Manheim. Secker & Warburg, London 1974. First UK edition. This copy signed by the author on the front free endpaper. 8vo. 310pp. Frontispiece. Edges very lightly spotted. A virtually fine copy in double-spread pictorial dust wrapper featuring a design by the author, just fractionally toned. An account his 1969 campaigning for the Social Democratic Party. £75

ALASDAIR GRAY. A History Maker. A novel. Canongate Press, Edinburgh 1994. First edition. This one of 250 copies signed by the author, his signature at the head of the half-title: “Alasdair Gray 136 – 250”. 8vo. xv, 222pp. Decorated cloth. With drawings by the author. Top edge spotted, encroaching just a fraction to the extreme upper margins of very occasional text leaves. Very good indeed in virtually fine pictorial dust wrapper designed by the author, marred only by a hint of internal spotting. The author’s seventh novel, set in the future in the Scottish borders and inspired by his 1970 play The History Maker. Uncommon with the author’s signature. £125

GRAHAM GREENE. A Quick Look Behind. Footnotes to an Autobiography. Poems. Sylvester & Orphanos, Los Angeles, California 1983. First edition, limited to 300 numbered copies printed by Patrick Reagh on Arches mouldmade paper and signed by the author (from a total edition of 330 copies). This example signed but not numbered. 8vo. 68pp. Blue cloth with an embossed repeating design and a paper spine label, lettered in metallic blue. Title page printed in black with a decorative blue border and vignette. A fine copy of a very elegant production. No dust wrapper called for, but housed in the fine cloth-covered slipcase. Thirty-five poems composed over a period spanning seventy years.  Three of them appeared in his first book Babbling April (1925), others in assorted periodicals, occasionally under pseudonyms, but the vast majority are hitherto unprinted. £225

“Having no claim to be a poet, I am confining these verses written over half a century to a very limited number of readers who may have a personal interest in the writer. Perhaps it will amuse them to speculate for what reason, on certain occasions, he was driven to abandon his natural medium of prose & jot down these footnotes in verse” – from the Author’s Note.

ALYSE GREGORY. Hester Craddock. A novel. Longmans, Green & Co., London 1931. First edition. A presentation copy, inscribed by the author to novelist James Hanley on the front free endpaper: “To James Hanley in appreciation and admiration of his imaginative power as a writer from Alyse Gregory- May 10, 1935 – ‘O, beware, my lord of jealousy; it is the green-ey’d monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on’”.  8vo. 298pp. Cloth at the backstrip browned, and the covers a little spotted, rubbed and marked. Some occasional quite light fox-spotting. A three-inch vertical tear to one text leaf (p.139) with some accompanying creasing. A good copy. No dust wrapper. A nice association copy of the author’s third novel (Hanley was a close friend of John Cowper Powys, and Gregory was J.C.P.’s sister-in-law, married to Llewelyn Powys). £175

JOANNE HARRIS. Chocolat. A novel. Doubleday, London 1999. First edition. This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 394pp. Just a trace of toning to the leaf margins as is common with this production, else a fine copy in dust wrapper, fractionally rubbed at the spine panel ends. The author’s bestselling third novel, shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Novel of the Year Award, and memorably filmed the following year.  £100

VIOLET HUDSON. Jean-Louis Curtis. The Silken Ladder. Translated by Violet Hudson & E.B.Behrens. Secker & Warburg, London 1957. First English edition. 8vo. Tips of two corners slightly bumped. A bright copy in slightly rubbed and marked dust wrapper. Inscribed by the translator to Mavis Eurich and with a covering typedletter, signed: "I thought you would find 'The Silken Ladder' interesting. I found it remarkable and some of it very original. There are many beautiful and true passages and, indeed, the book is strewn with them. it was frightfully difficult to translate". £25

P.D.JAMES. Shroud for a Nightingale. An Adam Dalgliesh mystery. Faber, London 1971. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 296pp. A trace of very light spotting to the top edge, a little soiling to the fore edge and just a hint of light partial browning to the front free endpaper. Very good indeed in dust wrapper, rubbed and chafed at the spine ends and at one or two other extremities, and with just a touch of dust soiling to the rear panel. The fourth Adam Dalgliesh mystery. £500

P.D.JAMES. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. A Cordelia Gray mystery. Faber, London 1972. First edition - this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 216pp. A speckling to spotting to the top edge and a small rust mark, probably from a now absent paperclip, to the head of the front free endpaper. A lovely bright copy in dust wrapper, rubbed at the spine ends and corner tips with several tiny fractions of loss. The author's sixth novel, and the first of her two Cordelia Gray mysteries. £150

OSBERT LANCASTER. With an Eye to the Future. With illustrations by the author. John Murray, London 1967. The deluxe issue of the first edition, limited to 100 numbered copies signed by the author and with an additional laid-in illustration (this being #90). 8vo. 156pp. Buckram-backed marbled paper-covered boards. Top edge gilt, others untrimmed. With a colour frontispiece, a title page decoration and various full-page drawings and further line drawings in the text. The backstrip just fractionally darkened else in fine state. Some leaves uncut. No dust wrapper called for but housed in the original decorated stiff card slipcase, very lightly rubbed at one or two extremities. Five stories. £225

JOE R.LANSDALE. By Bizarre Hands. Stories. With an introduction by Lewis Shiner and illustrations by Mark A.Nelson. Mark V.Ziesing, California 1989. The first trade edition of the author’s first collection of short fiction – this copy boldly inscribed by the author on the half-title and with a signed type written letter from the author laid-in. 8vo. 246pp. With decorated endpapers, a title page design and nine plates. A fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper, very lightly rubbed at the head of the spine panel. Sixteen stories, mostly reproduced from the pages of assorted pulp anthologies and magazines, with two hitherto unprinted and one appearing in its entirety here for the first time. £50

DAVID LODGE.  How Far Can You Go? A novel. Secker & Warburg, London 1980.  First edition – this copy inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, and dated the year of publication. 8vo. 243pp. A virtually fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper.  The author’s sixth novel, winner of the Whitbread Book of the Year, and a Burgess Ninety-Nine.  £250

COLUM MCCANN. Transatlantic. Bloomsbury, London 2013. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 298pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. The author’s sixth novel. £35

JOHN MCGAHERN. That They May Face the Rising Sun. A novel. Faber, London 2002. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 298pp. In fine state with fine dust wrapper. The author’s sixth and final novel. £95

PATRICK MCGRATH. Dr. Haggard’s Disease. A novel. Viking, London 1993. First edition. This copy signed by the author at the head of the title page and dated the month of publication. 8vo. 180pp. The merest trace of tanning to the leaf margins, else a fine copy in fine dust wrapper, under which is a second identical dust wrapper. Promotional postcard for the Penguin paperback edition laid-in. The author’s third novel. £40

BERNARD MACLAVERTY. Secret and Other Stories. Blackstaff Press Ltd., Belfast 1977. First edition. A presentation copy, fondly inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper and lined with a quotation from the Book of Psalms. It was subsequently presented as a gift from one of the original receipts to the other, and the front free endpaper adorned with inked notes detailing MacLaverty’s subsequent achievements. 8vo. 130pp. Some tanning to the lesser quality paperstock, else a fine copy in dust wrapper, very lightly rubbed at two of three extremities and with a touch of fading to the publisher’s spine panel colouring. Fifteen stories, the author’s first book. Uncommon. £125

HILARY MANTEL. Bring Up the Bodies. Fourth Estate, London 2012. The deluxe issue of the first edition, one of an unspecified number [apparently 2,000] of specially bound copies, signed by the author. 8vo. xiii, 411pp. Quarter cloth, lettered and ruled in gold at the spine with a gold-stamped eagle design to the upper board. With head and tail bands and a place-marker ribbon. A fine copy. No dust wrapper or slipcase called for. Her Booker Prize-winning sequel to Wolf Hall. £95

YANN MARTEL. The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios and Other Stories. Faber, London 1993. First UK and first casebound edition, published simultaneously with the Canadian edition, which was only issued in paperback format. This copy signed by the author on the title page and dated the year of publication. 8vo. 232pp. Some tanning to the lesser quality paperstock, else a fine copy in dust wrapper, fractionally rubbed at several extremities. Four stories - the author’s first book (bar the fugitive limited edition Seven Stories, issued earlier the same year by an Ottawa bookshop). £50

STANLEY MIDDLETON. Holiday. Oak Tree Press, ‘First Chapter’ series, Fyfield 2007. First edition thus. One of 185 copies (out of a total edition of 350 copies) printed on Maxi Silk paper, signed by the author and with a specially written foreword. 42pp. Teal cloth with paper title labels. Includes a delightful watercolour by the author.  Two or three very light marks to cloth, else in fine state save for the faint ghost of somewhat overbold former dealer pencilled notations to flyleaf. No dust wrapper, as issued. A handsomely designed signed reissue of the first chapter of Middleton’s Booker Prize winner novel (he shared the prize in 1974 with Nadime Gordimer). £65

ADRIAN MITCHELL. The Bodyguard. Jonathan Cape, London 1970. First edition – a presentation copy, inscribed by the author: “For John [Conroy] with love and many thanks for Teddy in Woman Overboard. Hoping to work with you again next year! Adrian. Peace 1988” and closing with his familiar elephant drawing. (The inscription relates to John Conroy’s performance as Theodore Custer in Mitchell’s 1988 version of Lope de Vega’s play Woman Overboard). 8vo. 187pp. Publisher’s vibrant maroon stain to top edge. A fine copy in fine price-clipped dust wrapper designed by Ken Sprague. The author’s fourth book and second novel, a dystopian black comedy set in the 1980s (and still strikingly relevant). £30

BRIAN MOORE. Judith Hearne. A novel. Andre Deutsch, London 1955. First edition of the author’s first serious book (leaving aside four thrillers, two of which were published pseudonymously). This copy inscribed by the author on the title page “for John” and signed beneath the author’s printed name. 8vo. 223pp. Top edge dust soiled and with a very minor slant to the binding. Small areas of light staining to four text leaves. A nearly very good copy, remaining really quite crisp and bright, and housed in the original pictorial dust wrapper, somewhat dust soiled and darkened, with a two-inch area of loss from the base of the spine panel, and some further smaller slivers from the head of the spine panel and from the corner tips and with several internally repairs short jagged tears. Quite a bright, fresh copy in a somewhat handled and damaged example of the dust wrapper, but still desirable with the author’s signature. £200

JOHN MORTIMER. Like Men Betrayed. Collins, London 1953. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. Some spotting to preliminary leaves, top- and fore-edge, occasionally encroaching to extremities of leaf margins. Tiny scuff to tip of front endpaper. A very nice, bright copy in like dust wrapper, lightly spotted at rear panel, flaps and internally. The author’s fourth book. £35

J.B.MORTON (i.e. ‘Beachcomber’). 1933 and Still Going Wrong! With drawings by Nicholas Bentley. Eyre & Spottiswoode, London 1932. First edition – the dedication copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper: “To my darling Mary with all my heart from John”. 4to. 84pp. Some light fox-spotting to half a dozen preliminary and concluding leaves and evidence of a little damp soiling to the rear board. A bright if slightly dusty copy in tanned and spotted dust wrapper, chipped at the spine ends with a little loss and with some minor corresponding signs of damp to the rear panel. A selection of twenty-two satirical poems (Straight-Bat Barrington, The Debasing Influence of a Good Child, Gratuitous Advice to a Lady Who is Kind to Cats, etc.), with a printed dedication To My Wife. Morton met and married Mary O’Leary, an Irish doctor, in 1927. They lived happily together until Mary’s death in 1974, a fact Morton never fully adjusted to, believing in his confusion that she was still alive and even insisting on addressing all of the ladies in his eventual nursing home as ‘Mary’. £450

ROBERT NYE. Faust. A novel. Hamish Hamilton, London 1980. First edition. The dedication copy, inscribed by the author thus: “For Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, publisher and friend from Robert Nye, with respect, affection and good wishes for the future. September 1980 (Faust year 500!)”. 8vo. 277pp. Spine ends and corner tips gently rubbed, and with an indentation to the base of the upper board and a tiny corresponding bump to the base of the lower board. A very good copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The author’s fourth adult novel, with a printed dedication to Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, author and long-term editor at Hamish Hamilton, later literary agent and publisher in his own right. £350

EDNA O’BRIEN. August is a Wicked Month. A novel. Jonathan Cape, London 1965. First edition. A presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper and dated the year of publication: “Sept. ’65. For Harry with very good intentions. Edna”. 8vo. 221pp. The publisher’s red top edge stain very lightly faded. A virtually fine copy in dust wrapper designed by Lord Snowdon, with a little fading to the publisher’s orange spine panel colouring and a touch of light edge rubbing and chafing. The author’s fourth novel, and her first following her noted Country Girls trilogy. £55

JOYCE CAROL OATES. Beasts. Orion, London 2003. The first UK edition (originally published in the US in previous year). This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 138pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. A novella set in a New England college town in the 1970s. £25

JOYCE CAROL OATES. Rape. A Love Story. Atlantic Books, London 2005. The first UK edition (originally published in the US in 2003). This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 1648pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. £25

ANN PATCHETT. The Patron Saint of Liars. A novel. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston & New York 1992. First edition - a presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page: “To my cousins Paul and Lucy. All best wishes, Ann Patchett 5/92”. 8vo. 336pp. Cloth-backed paper-covered boards. A touch of very light spotting to the edges, else a fine copy in fine dust wrapper. A super presentation copy of the author’s first book. £200

ALAN PATON. Knocking on the Door. Shorter Writings. Selected, edited and with an introduction by Colin Gardner. Rex Collings, London 1975. The UK issue of the first edition, printed from the South African sheets. This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. xii, 296pp. Half a dozen tiny pinpricks of spotting to the top edge, and a touch of very light spotting to two blank concluding leaves. Former owner name inked to the head of the front free endpaper. Very good indeed in lightly faded, chafed, rubbed and marked dust wrapper. Over seventy stories, poems, essays and autobiographic pieces, plus a short play; about a third of which is hitherto unprinted with much of the remainder appearing here in bookform for the first time. £55

E.ANNIE PROULX. The Shipping News. A novel. Fourth Estate, London 1994. First UK edition, issued a year after the US edition. This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 337pp. A tiny trace of soiling to the top edge, else a fine copy in dust wrapper, a little faded at the spine panel. The author’s third book and second novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction. £200

SIMON RAVEN. An Inch of Fortune. A novel. Blond & Briggs Ltd., London 1980. First edition. 8vo. 176pp. Boards a little marked and soiled and with some tape residue marks to the free endpapers. A nice bright copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. Ownership inkstamp of Philip Gaskell to the front pastedown (Gaskell took the photographs of Raven which appear on the rear panel of the dust wrapper). Laid-in is a postcard from Raven to Gaskill: ”Thanks for nice note re: AN INCH. Publication date is Aug 18; but Reresby Sitwell (“Lyewell” on L.33) is making legal noises. I hope my publisher is firm. Love Simon”. A nice association copy of the author’s first book, written in 1950, twice rejected for publication for fear of legal action and finally published here nearly thirty years later (but apparently still just as libelous). £95

SIMON RAVEN. ‘Is There Anybody There?’ said the Traveller. Memories of a Private Nuisance. Frederick Muller, London 1990. First edition. A presentation copy, intriguingly inscribed by the author on the title page: “Joanna, with juicy cruel memories, from Simon, May 1991”, and with Raven’s full signature on the half-title. 8vo. ix, 190pp. Some toning to the margins of the lesser-quality paperstock, else a fine copy in dust wrapper, lightly faded at the spine panel. A collection of anecdotes and reminiscences. It was withdrawn swiftly after publication following a series of libel action threats, including a writ from his former publisher Anthony Blond, and is accordingly uncommon. Raven subsequently threatened to write a new work entitled All Safely Dead, in which, safe from libel laws, he could expose various deceased luminaries from the British social, academic, political and literary scenes, but the work was never produced. £125

JOE SIMPSON. Touching the Void. With a foreword by Chris Bonington. Jonathan Cape, London 1988. First edition in the second state printing (as determined by a tiny ISBN label pasted to the copyright page). This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 172pp. With map-illustrated endpapers and twenty-three colour and black and white photographs. A fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper, just fractionally rubbed at one or two extremities. One of the cornerstones of modern mountaineering literature. Most uncommon with the author’s signature. £550

EDITH SITWELL. I Live Under a Black Sun. A novel. Victor Gollancz Ltd., London 1937. First edition of Sitwell's only novel. This copy inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: “For Mrs. Curtis, with all best wished from Edith Sitwell”. 8vo. 400pp. Top edge dust marked, with a minor slant to the binding and a little bruising to the backstrip ends. A small area of spotting and staining to the margin of half a dozen adjacent text leaves. A good bright copy in somewhat soiled and rubbed dust wrapper, darkened at the spine panel, and with some tearing and a small area of ragged loss from the head of the spine panel, just impacting the lettering, and just a fraction more from the base. A fictionalised biography of the life of Jonathan Swift, with a printed dedication to John Sparrow. 4,350 copies were printed. Fifoot EA30. £250

AUGUST STRINDBERG. By the Open Sea. A novel. Translated from the Swedish of I havsbandet and with an introduction by Mary Sandbach. Secker & Warburg, London 1985. A reprint of the second English translation (the first English translation of Strindberg’s novel was by Ellie Schleussner, published in 1913).  A presentation copy, inscribed by the translator on the front free endpaper: “To Docent Hans Lindström with deep gratitude for all his kindness from Mary Sandbach” (Lindström is the pre-eminent Strindberg scholar and is thanked in the acknowledgements thus: “I am deeply indebted to Docent Hans Lindström for his kindness in answering questions, and for sending me his notes before the publication of his edition of 'I havsbandet' in Sweden”). 8vo. xi, 193pp. A virtually fine copy in very lightly rubbed dust wrapper. £35

PAUL THEROUX. Waldo. A novel. The Bodley Head, London 1968 First UK edition of Theroux's debut novel (which was preceded by the US edition). This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 208pp. A tiny smattering of foxing to the top edge and a single tiny blemish to the front free endpaper. Near fine in Yvonne Skargon-designed dust wrapper, fractionally marked and with a single lengthy closed tear to the front panel. £150

COLM TÓIBÍN. The Blackwater Lightship. Picador, London 1999. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 273pp. A touch of bruising to spine ends, else in fine state with virtually fine dust wrapper, lightly chafed at the head of the spine panel. The author’s fourth novel, shortlisted for The Booker Prize. £50

COLM TÓIBÍN. Mothers and Sons. Picador, London 2006. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 309pp. Nine stories, the author’s first collection of short fiction. £35

COLM TÓIBÍN. The Empty Family. Stories. Viking, London 2010. First edition – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 214pp. A fine copy in fine dust wrapper. Nine short stories, the author’s second collection of short fiction. £35

WILLIAM TREVOR. Mrs Eckdorf in O Neill's Hotel. The Bodley Head, London 1969. First edition - this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 304pp. Spine ends and corner tips lightly rubbed, and with a single tiny indentation to the head of the upper board. A touch of light uneven browning to the endpapers and pastedowns. A very crisp copy in price-clipped dust wrapper, with some minor dust soiling, a small splash of staining, and some rubbing and fraying to the spine ends and corner tips. The wrapper in internally reinforced with masking tape. Inkstamp of literary agency R.Harben to the front free endpaper. The author's fifth novel, and his first Booker Prize-shortlisted effort. Supplied together with an uncorrected proof copy of the first edition, in the publisher’s yellow card wrappers. The edges and the fore edge margin of two or three preliminary leaves lightly spotted. Very good. £250

ELIZABETH TROOP. Woolworth Madonna. A novel. Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd., London 1976. First edition. A presentation copy, inscribed by the author at the head of the front free endpaper: “To Lisa, with love, thanks and everything, Liz”. 8vo. 124pp. Just a touch of very light tanning to the leaf margins, and a tiny sliver of staining impacts the fore edge margin of the first three leaves. A very good copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The author’s second novel, an overlooked motherhood classic, detailing an embattled wife and mother struggling with South London public housing and her children's diminished dreams. Uncommon – and much more so with the author’s signature. £35

ALAN WALL. A to Z. A novella. Colophon Press, London 1997. First edition, one of a limited issue of 50 casebound signed and numbered copies with a holograph quotation from the text (out of a total edition of 206 copies). With two handsome vignettes by Philip Byrne. In fine state with original unprinted acetate protector. £25

COLIN WILSON. Religion and the Rebel. Victor Gollancz, London 1957. First edition of Wilson’s second book – this copy boldly inscribed by the author on the front endpaper and dated 1976. 333pp. Top edge dust marked. Quite a crisp and bright copy in slightly dusty dust wrapper, lightly tanned at spine panel and a little chipped at head of spine with several tiny slivers of loss. Small label partially removed from front wrapper flap. £50

R.D.WINGFIELD. Frost at Christmas. Constable, London 1989. First UK edition of Wingfield’s first book – this copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 284pp. The merest trace of tanning to leaf margins and a short crease to one corner of the rear free endpaper. In virtually fine state with fine dust wrapper. The first of the author’s Inspector Frost mysteries, originally written in 1972 at the prompting of Macmillan (and spurred on by a non-refundable advance of £50), the manuscript was promptly rejected, before eventually being published in Canada in 1984. This UK edition followed some five years later and the Yorkshire Television adoptions staring David Jason appeared soon after. £350

MICHAEL WISHART. High Diver. A memoir. Blond & Briggs Ltd, London and Colchester 1977. First edition. A presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page: “For John Bird in friendship. Michael Wishart 19.x.1979” and with the recipients neat inkstamped details to the half-title and title page. 8vo. 208pp. Illustrated with thirty-three black and white photographs and reproductions. One corner of the upper board bumped resulting in a short tear to the cloth, and with just a touch of bruising to the spine ends. A very crisp copy in dust wrapper, with a touch of corresponding wear to the spine panel ends and a single short closed tear and a short slit to the rear panel-spine panel join. The author’s memoir, which caused a scandal upon publication due to the depiction of the bohemian lifestyles of Wishart and his friends Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon. Curiously uncommon, and much more so with his signature (the recipient of the inscription was the noted biographer of composer Percy Grainger). £200