STATE OF SIEGE. by Ambler, Eric (1909-1998) - 1956

New York:: Alfred A. Knopf,, 1956. Hardcover first edition -. Very near fine in blue boards with a black cloth spine in a like dustjacket with just a bit of wear at the ends of the spine and the corners. Original price of 3.50 still present.. First printing. The ninth novel by this author whom Graham Greene called "our greatest thriller writer" - and who is credited with creating the modern thriller, and in introducing a new realism to the espionage novel. As is many of his best books, the main character in this novel is an ordinary person who finds himself in an extraordinary - and dangerous - situation. In this case, a British consulting engineer had spent three years working on a dam in a newly independent small island nation which had been part of the Dutch East Indies. Now ready to return to England, instead he is unwillingly involved in a military coup. Originally published in the UK as 'The Night-comers.' 233 pp. Dust jacket by Jean Carlu.