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Chandler, Raymond : The Long Goodbye

Hamish Hamilton, Boston, 1953

Maroon cloth, wear. Stated first edition in Great Britain., Very Good

1st Edition

CHANDLER**, RAYMOND: : THE LONG GOODBYE

LONDON.THE FOLIO SOCIETY,1989.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,Demy 8vo HB,1st thus.[This,the first issue of this set - a 2nd imp was also issued in the same year.A single volume of five (of originally a 7-volume slipcased set - LADY IN THE LAKE,and last volume PLAYBACK sold,and the slipcase missing) offered singly or as a 5-vol set,as is in one purchase @ £70 insured post paid.] FINE. Bright,crisp and clean; with bright,crisp,blocked silver gilt lettering to lower edge of front board and to spine/ backstrip,publisher's original,sharp-cornered, full grey cloth boards with a dark grey wrap-around silhouette of Philip Marlowe,by David Eccles,visible on both the boards and the spine/ backstrip; with negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners given the absence of issued slipcase,a red+grey striped headband,and immaculate plain dark red endpapers. [This was the FIRST time the Society used the device of having a silhouette on the binding, which moves progressively backwards on each volume,so that the same silhouette is visible across the spines of the (issued 7) volumes when correctly placed in the slipcase.] Top edges with very faint,minimal,sporadic foxing/spotting and otherwise generally bright,fore-edges brighter,cleaner and without any foxing/spotting or blemishes; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - therefore appears unread - apart from my own collation. However,a production(?) fault of an impressed, but small creases,to the fore-edges of pp283/5 and the fore-edges of the 3pp blanks too.UK,Demy 8vo HB (222 x 141 x 18-32mm - varying thickness for each individual volume.),1st thus,1-285pp includes 53 chapters; plus [unpaginated] half-title with a b/w frontispiece drawing by Sue Bradbury,to its reverse,title page and 3pp blanks at the rear.Filmset in Linotron Dante (12-pt) with Univers and an adapted version of Kombie for display, type.Typeset by Profile Information,printed and bound in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner Ltd.,Frome,Somerset using West One Antique Wove Paper. Author's 6th and critically acclaimed novel,once again,featuring hard-boiled private eye Philip Marlowe.In 1955,the novel received the Edgar Award for Best Novel. 'The Long Goodbye' is another of Chandler's novels,centred on his famous,iconic detective Philip Marlowe.Some critics considered it inferior to 'The Big Sleep' or 'Farewell, My Lovely',others ranked it as the best of his work.Chandler himself,in a letter to a friend, called the novel "my best book" and recalled the agony of writing it while his wife was terminally ill. The novel is notable for using the genre of hard-boiled detective fiction as a vehicle for social criticism,as well as for including autobiographical elements from Chandler's life and therefore is his most personal novel. The novel contains two characters obviously based on Chandler himself and both of them highlight Chandler's awareness of his own flaws such as alcoholism as well as his insecurities (e.g., in the value of his writing).The most obvious Chandler substitute is the usually drunken author Roger Wade character.Like Chandler,Wade had a string of successful novels behind him but as he got older he found it more difficult to write.Also,like Chandler,Wade's novels (romantic fiction) were viewed by many as not real literature and Wade obviously has the desire to be thought of as a serious author.Wade also stands in for Chandler in discussions about literature, e.g., praising F. Scott Fitzgerald. The other Chandler 'stand-in' character was Terry Lennox.Lennox was also an alcoholic.Also, like Chandler he had been in a war and the war had left emotional scars.In Lennox's case it was the Second World War; in Chandler's case it was WW1. In the plot,Lennox was a Canadian citizen but he had spent a great deal of time in England and retained the more restrained and formal attitude of an English gentleman.This made him somewhat of an anomaly in the fast paced and more informal world of wealthy Los Angeles that he inhabited due to his wife's money.Chandler himself,was also raised in England and received a classical education there. Of the issued volumes,four of his major works: 'The Big Sleep (1939),'Farewell, My Lovely' (1940),'The Lady in the Lake' (1943),and 'The Long Goodbye' (1954),all of which were made into very popular films.This novel the basis for the 1973, United Artists film that starred Elliot Gould with Nina van Pallandt and Sterling Hayden,directed by Robert Altman. Raymond Chandler (1888-1959),born Chicago,grew up in England.Served in RAF in World War I.As an ex-journalist and ousted oil executive,Chandler only began writing in 1933 at the age of 45, publishing stories in Black Mask magazine. His output is small - from 1939 on he produced seven novels and a batch of short stories. The Folio Society’s formula for success is publishing books with exceptional typography, illustrations,paper and bindings.The Society sources new introductions from literary experts to accompany classic texts and uses skilled designers and master printers to produce memorable fine books.Fiction and non-fiction titles are published.The Folio Society also prides itself on producing series of an author's works which regular publishers might not think economic - in several cases it is only possible to acquire forgotten books by major writers in Folio Society editions. Please contact seller for individual or multiples of books (other than 5-volume option) for their 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 AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,Demy 8vo HB,1st thus.
Not SIGNED.

Chandler, Raymond : The Long Goodbye

Hamish Hamilton, London, 1953

8vo.. First UK edition and corredt first as it precedes the US edition. A very good plus clean bright unmarked copy in a rather worn dw.which has moderate edge wear with slight loss including about a 1cm. piece at the top of the spine. Otherwise the dw. is essentially complete and not price clipped.. Book Condition: Very Good Plus. Binding: Hard Cover. Jacket: Very Good Minus

First Edition

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