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ATKINSON**, KATE: : HUMAN CROQUET. ** [Uncorrected Proof copy.]

LONDON.DOUBLEDAY,1997.

ISBN 0312155506.

UK,8vo wraps,('C' paperback format),Uncorrected Book Proof. [UK,publication date March,1997. Often of limited availability,the text of a forthcoming book,is printed and bound in softcovers for use by the author,editors, proofreaders and some favoured reviewers.For undecorated printed wraps, ith minimal publication data imprinted - the produced/released number of copies would almost certainly be less than 500,and most probably would tend to be around 200 copies.For glossy pictorial illustrated wrappers,produced numbers are often higher than 200,but either have a scarcity to them.Often errors or earlier versions of text appear in these proofs.Versions where the text has changed considerably are obviously considered more desirable by their nature.] FINE+. No owner inscrptn. Bright,crisp,clean, sharp-cornered,glossy,green front card cover with capitalised,white-lettered author credit for BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM along top edge,capitalised,white-lettered title and author's other white-lettered name,publisher's paler green illustrated anchor colophon to lower edge along with capitalised,white-lettered BOOK PROOF in a central white bordered black rectangle at front's lower edge.A flat,reading crease-free white spine/backstrip with a pale green small panel with capitalised,black-lettered BOOK PROOF within; remainder of white spine with capitalised,black-lettered books' title and author's green-lettered name with publisher's black-lettered name and b/w illustrated colophon to foot of same respectively,rear card with white background and capitalised green-lettered book title and black-lettered publisher blurb and synopsis with publisher's other black-lettered information on publisher,publication date,ISBN and price,along with a central,pale green rectangle with capitalised,black-lettered UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY et.c within.Negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present, but a tiny cluster of minimal,superficial indents to front cover.Top+fore-edges exceptionally bright,crisp and clean without blemish,ageing or toning and no foxing/spotting either; contents similar - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,unread other than my own collation.UK, 8vo wraps,('C' p/back format),Uncorrected Book Proof,11-350pp [paginated] includes multiple sections but no chapter numeration; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,an epigram ['Ode for the Spring of 1814',Leigh Hunt],individual section separator pages and to the rear,a captioned,full-page b/w illustration of people playing the game of Human Croquet.              Want other PROOF copies? Please search my MODERN FIRSTS, MODERN FIRSTS2, CHILDRENS/ILLUSTRATED, BIOGRAPHY, SIGNED, NAVAL/MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY catalogues for examples. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional and particularly internally,is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its 25+ year-old age and nature, i.e  an ephemeral paperback Proof copy.It is only the minor,minimal fault described that prevents a slightly higher grading overall.Despite that,it really is still an exceptional,exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of detracting faults usually encountered with a decades old paperback Proof copy. This her second novel - the first,'Behind the Scenes in the Museum',in 1995 - see my book ID rja695917 - won the WHITBREAD BOOK of the YEAR prize. Once it had been the great forest of Lythe - a vast and impenetrable thicket of green with a mystery in the very heart of the trees.And here,in the beginning,lived the Fairfaxes, grandly,at Fairfax Manor,visited once by the great Gloriana herself.                          But over the centuries the forest had been destroyed,replaced by Streets of Trees - Chestnut Avenue,Laurel Bank,Sycamore Street,and all that was left was Boscrambe Woods and the great Lady Oak.The Fairfaxes had dwindled too; now they lived in 'Arden' at the end of Hawthorne Close and were hardly a family at all.  There was Vinny (the Aunt from Hell), irritating and irritable - 'Fun doesn't get the washing done' - with her cats and her crab-apple face. And Gordon,who had forgotten them for seven years and,when he remembered,came back with fat Debbie,who shared her one brain cell with a poodle and had something wrong with her tubes.And then there were Charles and Isobel,the children.Charles,the acne-scarred Lost Boy, passed his life awaiting visits from aliens and the return of his mother.But it is Isobel to whom the story belongs - Isobel,born on the Streets of the Trees in the muddled middle of the twentieth century,drops into pockets of time and out again.Isobel is sixteen and she too is waiting for the return of her mother - the thin, dangerous Eliza with her scent of nicotine, Arperge and sex,whose disappearance is part of the mystery that still remains at the heart of the forest. Her new book is an audacious blend of history, comedy and tragedy,drawing on Shakespeare and the place of the forest in the imagination, distilled through the lives of an eccentric suburban family.   'Human Croquet' confirms Kate Atkinson as an outstanding writer of lyrical prose,and as a unique new voice in British fiction.              Want more Kate ATKINSON titles? For similar and other titles,please search my MODERN FIRSTS2 catalogue.  Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight and the value of this item,for correct, insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE.    ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo wraps,('C' paperback format),Uncorrected Proof copy.
Not SIGNED.

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