CLASSIC BOOKS

CHRIS MARTIN MODERN FIRST EDITIONS

Let me know if you want more information. Thanks, Chris.

Chris Martin, Church Farm, Main Street, Blidworth,
Notts. NG21 0QH.

01623 798771

07702 705021 (mobile)


1. BEMELMANS. LUDWIG Madeline
Derek Verschoyle 1953 (1st UK) £195
A really nice collectible copy of this, the first in the Madeline series. The book has pictorial boards and is Fine except for a light stain to lower back cover and rear pastedown. The d/w is really nic but has corresponding stain to rear, other sl. signs of wear and a rectangular price clip. Nr Fine in VG d/w.






Ludwig Bemelmans (April 27, 1898 – October 1, 1962) was a German-American author, an internationally known gourmet and also a writer and illustrator of children's books. He is most famous today for the series of Madeline books.Each story begins: "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines... the smallest one was Madeline."
The girls are cared for by a nun, Miss Clavel. Other characters include Pepito, son of the Spanish Ambassador, who lives next door; Lord Covington (called Cucuface by the girls), owner of the house; and Genevieve, a dog who rescues Madeline from drowning in the second book.
The first book, Madeline, was made into an award-winning 1952 short animated cartoon directed by Robert Cannon for UPA, also titled "Madeline".
Between 1990 and 1995 an animated Madeline series was made for television, with narration in appropriately rhyming style read by Christopher Plummer.
A live action Madeline film based on several of the books appeared in 1998, directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer and starring Hatty Jones as Madeline, Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel, and Nigel Hawthorne as Lord Covington (aka "Cucuface").

2. BRADBURY. RAY Something Wicked This Way Comes
Rupert Hart-Davis 1963 (1st UK) £245
Sensational as new copy. Wonderful clean tight book with d/w that is NOT price-clipped or sunned. A very small tear to top edge o/w Fine in a Fine d/w.




In a small town, two young boys named Will and Jim encounter a sinister carnival whose proprietor, Mr. Dark, lures the townsfolk to their doom by promising to fulfill their childhood desires. As Will, Jim, and Will's father, Charles Halloway, are about to find out, these wishes come at a horrific price.

3. DUFFY. CAROL ANN The World's Wife
Picador 1999 (1st UK) £28.00

Signed by the author to the title page. Mint in a Mint d/w.



'The World's Wife' is Carol Ann Duffy's first themed collection of poems, which was first published in 1999. The collection takes characters, stories, histories and myths which focus on men, and in Duffy's renowned feminist way, presents them anew for the public to look at the women that were previously obscured behind the men. It is a set text on some A2 andAS Syllabuses of English Literature in England and Wales.
Carol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL (born 23 December 1955 in Glasgow) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009. She is the first woman, the first Scot, and the first openly bisexual person to hold the position, as well as the first laureate to be chosen in the 21st century.

4. DUFFY. CAROL ANN . The Princess' Blanket - Signed Limited Edition.
ill. Catherine Hyde.
Templar Publishing 2008 (1st UK). £28.00
A beautifully produced book in matching slipcase. This is number 64 of 500 copies, signed by both the author and the illustrator. Mint in Mint slipcase.




5. FIELDING HELEN. Bridget Jones Diary. Picador 1996

Fine in a Fine d/w. £34.00



The UK edition precedes the U.S. publication by 2 years. A phenomenal success, a brilliant comical evocation of the life of a single girl. The novel is based on the author's hugely popular fictional diary in the 'Independent' newspaper.

6. FRY. ROSALIE K. The Castle Family with ORIGINAL ARTWORK. ill. Gill. Margery.
Dent 1965 (1st UK). £45.00
A lovely example of this book with 4 original pen and ink illustrations that were used in the book. The drawings show a girl with her seated father, children drawing, a girl in coat and headscarf walking her dog, and a boy opening a door. They are on paper and measure approx 5 x 4 and 4 x 4 inches (9 x 5.5 and 7.25 x 5.75 inches including borders). They are captioned with chapter and page numbers, etc. The artist has revised 3 of the drawings and inserted new pieces into the image, which are affixed on separate pieces of paper. These are held in place by tape on the reverse sides. VG+ in VG+ d/w.





7. GARNETT. DAVID Pocahontas
Chatto & Windus 1933 (1st UK) £32.00
Scarce in the d/w. Book is nice and tight. Some foxing to side edges in a d/w that has a piece missing at bottom of front affecting name (see photo), staining to the back and sl. sunned spine. Overall, Very Good in a Very Good d/w.



8. GOLDING. WILLIAM Pincher Martin
Faber 1956 (1st UK) £85.00
A stunning example. Slightly dusty top edge and a hint of sunning to the spine o/w Fine in a Fine d/w.




From the library of Michael Josselson with his bookplate on the front pastedown.
Michael Josselson was born March 2, 1908, in Tartu, Estonia, the son of a Jewish timber merchant. Following his primary education in Estonia, he attended secondary school in Berlin from 1920 to 1927. He attended one year each at the University of Berlin and the University of Freiburg from 1927 through 1928, then left school to work as a buyer in the Berlin office of Gimbel-May department stores.
Josselson, fluent in German, Russian, French, and English, excelled in his job, which required him to arrange wholesale purchases from suppliers in various European countries. By 1935, he sought to leave Nazi Germany and gained a promotion to manager of Gimbel Brothers' Paris office. He was so successful in that position that in 1937 he immigrated to the United States with his new French wife, Colette, to work in New York City as the managing director for all of Gimbels' European offices.
World War II brought about the collapse of European markets and in 1941 Josselson had to again work as a buyer for Gimbels. He and his wife separated that year and she remained in New York while he moved to Pittsburgh for his new position. They later divorced in 1949. Josselson became a US citizen in 1942 and was drafted into the US Army in 1943.
In the Army, Josselson received military intelligence training and was assigned to a communications unit in Europe as an interpreter. He was discharged as a 1st Lieutenant in 1946, although he remained in the reserves as a military intelligence officer until 1950.
From 1946 to 1949, Josselson worked as a cultural affairs officer for the US War Department's Office of the Military Government in Berlin. From 1949-1950 he worked on the public affairs staff of the US State Department's Office of the High Commissioner for Germany. In these positions he was responsible for the "de-Nazification" of top German intellectuals and leaders as well as the editing and dissemination of anti-Communist propaganda. It is during this period that Josselson purportedly became connected with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

9. HERGE. Tintin in Tibet.
Methuen 1962 (1st UK), First Edition. £34.00
A reasonable example of this classic title which Herge stated was his own personal favourite. One word name on f.f.e. Corners of boards a bit scuffed. Short tear at head of spine, a little rubbed at edges. Some handling marks. One leaf has a small chip at bottom edge. A few leaves have creased corners. All else in good condition in boards as published.



10. HOEG. PETER Miss Smillas Feeling For Snow Harvill 1993 £24.00

Very scarce Uncorrected Proof. Near Fine in publishers' photographic cover.



The book was also produced as a 1997 motion picture called Smilla's Sense of Snow, starring Julia Ormond, Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Harris, Jürgen Vogel, Mario Adorf and Tom Wilkinson, directed by Bille August.
Winner of the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger Award in 1992.

11. HOSSEINI. KHALED A Thousand Splendid Suns Bloomsbury 2007 £38.00

Uncorrected Proof copy with extra promotional material laid in. Flat-signed by Khaled Hosseini on the title page, in both English and Farsi. Rare to find it signed like this. Laid in are three pieces of related ephemera including a promotional postcard. Mint in a Mint d/w.


A Thousand Splendid Suns is a 2007 novel by Afghan author Khaled Hosseini, his second, following his bestselling 2003 debut, ‘The Kite Runner’. It focuses on the tumultuous lives of two Afghan women and how their lives cross each other, spanning from the 1960s to present day.
Columbia Pictures owns the movie rights to the novel, but production has yet to begin; Steven Zaillian is currently writing a screenplay and is also likely to direct, Scott Rudin has signed on as a producer.



12. JONES. JAMES. From Here To Eternity. Collins 1952 £16.00

A nice copy with only sl. wear to extremities and minor foxing to edges. NOT price-clipped. Neat name and date on f.f.e. VG in VG d/w.

Author’s first novel made into the classic 1953 film version of this story starring Frank Sinatra and Burt Lancaster.

13. LANDY. DEREK. Skulduggery Pleasant.
Harper Collins 2007 (1st UK). Mint in a Mint d/w. £28.00


First book in a projected 10 book series with Warner Bros studios developing a movie project.


14. LEWYCKA. MARINA A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian.
Viking 2005 (1st UK). £24.00
A signed copy of this wonderful first novel. Long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2005 and Winner of the British Book Awards "Newcomer of The Year" Award 2006. As new. Mint in Mint d/w.




15. LORENZ. KONRAD On Aggression
Methuen 1966 (1st UK) £34.00
The author's famous work in wonderful condition. Also included are a few reviews and articles concerning the book.
This book is from the library of Michael Josselson although no markings/bookplates to state that. See the note at the end of the 'Pincher Martin' entry.



Translated by Marjoire Latzke. With a Foreword by Sir Julian Huxley. Animals do not normally destroy other members of their own species. Men do. Individual man has divine faculties of kindness and pity, yet man's mass behaviour can exceed any animal's in its ferocity. What has man to learn from animals. The author begins by showing that aggression in itself is not anything pathological or 'evil', but an instinct which like many others serves the survival of the species. In man the dangers of the aggression instinct seem to have surpassedd its usefulness, since modern weapons have multiplied his faculty to inflict injury on fellow members of his species. Yet the study of higher animals may still show the dangers can be averted. The book is illustrated with the same wealth of personal knowledge of animals and written with the same charm and gaiety that delighted the readers of King Solomon's Ring.

16. MACDONALD FRASER. GEORGE Flash For Freedom! (With signed colour photo)
Barrie & Jenkins 1971 (1st UK) £95.00

A really nice example with a signed colour photo of the author laid in. The only blemish to the wrapper is a price-clip. The book is fine except for one or two foxings.





17. MILLER. HENRY Black Spring
John Calder 1965 (1st UK). £16.00
A near perfect copy. Book is as new and obviously never read. Mint in Mint d/w.


18. ‘MISS READ’ Village School Michael Joseph 1955 £24.00

A nice clean copy of the author’s first ‘Miss Read’ novel. Name on f.f.e o/w Near Fine in a Near Fine d/w.


Dora Jessie Saint MBE née Shafe (born 17 April 1913), best known by the pen name Miss Read, is an English novelist, by profession a schoolmistress. Her pseudonym is derived from her mother's maiden surname. She wrote a series of novels from 1955 to 1996. Her work centred on two fictional English villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green. The principal character in the Fairacre books, "Miss Read", is an unmarried schoolteacher in a small village school, an acerbic and yet compassionate observer of village life. Miss Read's novels are wry regional social comedies, laced with gentle humour and subtle social commentary


19. MOORE. BRIAN. The Luck of Ginger Coffey.
Cape 1960 (1st UK). £38.00

A nice example of this early Moore. One or two edge tears to d/w otherwise Near Fine in a Very Good d/w.

20. MOORE. BRIAN. I Am Mary Dunne.
Cape 1968 (1st UK). £34.oo
A wonderful example of this early Moore. Fine in a Near. Fine d/w.


21. O'BRIAN. PATRICK The Fortune of War
Collins 1979 (1st UK) £195.00
Stunning as new copy. Mint in a Mint d/w.




22. PATON ALAN. Cry, the Beloved Country.
Cape 1948 (1st UK). £38.00
First edition, first printing of this important novel. The book has a small neat name on f.f.e. dated 'Durban 1948'. Book is really nice with sl. browned edges and one or two spots of foxing. The jacket is price-clipped and has wear to top of spine and foldovers. Slight loss at top of spine. A nice example. Very Good in a Very Good d/w.




23. RAYMOND. DEREK I Was Dora Suarez Scribners (UK) 1990

Fine in a Fine d/w. £32.00



It's the fourth book in the Factory series (with "He Died with His Eyes Open", "The Devil's Home on Leave" and "How the Dead Live") written by Redmond, A pseudonym of Robin Cook.
Cook’s notoriety crested following the 1990 publication of what many consider his best — and most repulsive — work: the tortured, redemptive tale of a masochistic serial killer, I Was Dora Suarez. To Cook’s delight, the ensuing novel caused Dan Franklin, the publisher of its three predecessors, to vomit over his desk. As a result of this reader response, Secker & Warburg told the author to take his nauseating wares elsewhere. Scribner took over the fourth novel in the factory series. Writing for The New York Times, Marilyn Stasio proclaimed: “Everything about I Was Dora Suarez […] shrieks of the joy and pain of going too far.” Filmmaker Chris Petit described it in The Times as “a book full of coagulating disgust and compassion for the world’s contamination, disease and mutilation, all dwelt on with a feverish, metaphysical intensity that recalls Donne and the Jacobeans more than any of Raymond’s contemporaries.”

24. REMARQUE. ERICH MARIA All Quiet on the Western Front
Putnam 1929 (1st UK)Very Good+ in a Very Good d/w. £595




A really nice example of this classic novel of World War 1. Translated from the German by A. W. Wheen. First Edition in English, First Impression. One of the essential novels of the Great War and very scarce in this condition. Original oatmeal cloth, titles to upper board and spine in green,in a lovely d/w not price-clipped or sunned. Only blemish is one or two closed tears.

25. RICE. ANNE Interview With The Vampire Macdonald 1976 £95

Wonderful book. Only blemish is a short tear to front of wrapper otherwise Fine in a Fine d/w.



Interview with the Vampire is a vampire novel by Anne Rice written in 1973 and published in 1976. The novel, the first to feature the enigmatic vampire Lestat, was followed by several sequels, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles. A film version, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, was released in 1994 starring Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater and Tom Cruise.


26. STOPPARD. TOM Rock 'N Roll
Faber 2006 (1st UK Hardback) £24.00
Scarce hardback in as new condition. Mint in a Mint d/w




27. STOREY. DAVID Flight into Camden Longmans 1960 £38.00

Very sl. wear and a small bookseller sticker on f. pastedown. Near Fine in a Near Fine d/w.



Flight into Camden won the 1963 Somerset Maugham Award and the 1961 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.

28. SWARUP. VIKAS Q and A Doubleday 2005 (1st UK) £145.00

Signed by the author to the title page. The first UK edition of the author's first novel which has recently been a Cinema hit filmed as "Slumdog Millionaire". As new. Mint in a Mint d/w.