EDWIN OF THE IRON SHOES

New York: David McKay Company / Ives Washburn, Inc, 1977. First edition. Fine in about fine jacket.. Inscribed first printing of Muller's influential first novel, introducing her most famous character, San Francisco private detective Sharon McCone. With Sue Grafton and Sara Paretsky, Muller was one of the earliest and most influential woman suspense writers to work outside the boundaries of the 'cozy' murder mystery; certainly among the first to be recognized for it. Famously described by Grafton as the "founding mother" of their shared school of detective fiction, Muller's patience with the categorization soon grew thin, as a recent interviewer discovered: "'The founding mother of the contemporary female private eye.' With a sigh and a patient smile Marcia Muller repeats the words. 'Both of us are so sick of that but it just keeps getting used.'" Unfortunately for the author, it's a very good quote. A handsome copy of a genre-changing text. 8'' x 5.5''x. Original red cloth. In original unclipped ($7.95) dust jacket. 178 pages. Inscribed on front free endpaper: "For Al, with mysterious best wishes, Marcia Muller 11-3-84." Pages uniformly toned; minor scuffing and a few very small closed tears to jacket.