Boy. Tales of Childhood
by DAHL, Roald
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Jonathan Cape, (1984).. First edition, 8vo, 160 pp. Inscribed from Dahl on the half title to his childhood friend Douglas Highton, and with two autograph letters also inserted. Cloth, d.w., a fine copy. The first letter, on a headed postcard, was sent with the book - "This little book is published next week. You will find yourself in it..." Dahl starts, referring to a story featured on pp. 108-111 where as a schoolboy Dahl had been unfairly punished and Highton had written to his father to complain about it. It didn't help, but Dahl concludes the printed account "it was... a touching and generous gesture from one small boy to another and I have never forgotten it." He goes on (in the postcard) to admit that some parts of the book "are slightly coloured by my natural love of fantasy." The second letter, again on headed stationery, must date from a few months later, with Dahl mentioning that he has had letters complaining about the portrayal of their school from other ex-pupils. Obviously part of a much longer correspondence, he begins the letter with some trenchant views on John Le Carré. "...he is grossly overrated. Obscurity is never a virtue in a writer. It is a refuge for the novelist who is either too idle or too incompetent to make the story flow. Clarity is the virtue. I personally don't believe he can manage it..." An excellent association copy.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Bow Windows Bookshop (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 46569
- Title
- Boy. Tales of Childhood
- Author
- DAHL, Roald
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- London: Jonathan Cape
- Date Published
- (1984).
- Keywords
- Literature
Terms of Sale
Bow Windows Bookshop
14 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 14 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Bow Windows Bookshop
Biblio member since 2006
Lewes, East Sussex
About Bow Windows Bookshop
Bow Windows Bookshop has a large general stock of old and fine books and maps. Owned in partnership by Ric Latham and Jonathan Menezes, we buy and sell all manner of titles from early leatherbound volumes to modern first editions. We exhibit at bookfairs in the UK and North America and issue regular printed catalogues. Located in the beautiful county town of Lewes in the south-east of England, we are open six days a week. All our books are described as accurately as possible and we abide by the Code of Good Practice of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Association Copy
- An association copy is a copy of a book which has been signed and inscribed by the author for a personal friend, colleague, or...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Half Title
- The blank front page which appears just prior to the title page, and typically contains only the title of the book, although, at...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...