Instance of the Fingerpost, An – Iain Pears
VG/NF

Description

For sale: a rare first edition, first printing of An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears, protected in a new archival wrap. First Edition stated, 1998 Riverhead. First Printing with full number line. 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1.

The book is in Very Good condition with clean, bright boards, strong title gilt on a concave spine, mild foxing and smudges on page blocks, the binding is starting to pull away at the top of the spine, mild spine tilt, rolled spine ends, mild edge wear, and lightly rubbed corners. The interior of the book is in Near Fine condition with the ghost of an erased price on the half title page. No other marks, inscriptions, or other signs of ownership inside. The end papers and the interior pages are clean and bright, making it an excellent addition to any collection.

The dust jacket is in Near Fine condition with the price on the front flap, and moderate surface wear and mild edge wear. Looks great in a new Brodart archival wrap.

Set in Oxford in the 1660s – a time and place of great intellectual, religious, scientific and political ferment – this remarkable novel centres around a young woman, Sarah Blundy, who stands accused of the murder of Robert Grove, a fellow of New College. Four witnesses describe the events surrounding his death: Marco da Cola, a Venetian Catholic intent on claiming credit for the invention of blood transfusion; Jack Prescott, the son of a supposed traitor to the Royalist cause, determined to vindicate his father; John Wallis, chief cryptographer to both Cromwell and Charles II, a mathematician, theologian and master spy; and Anthony Wood, the famous Oxford antiquary. Each one tells their version of what happened but only one reveals the extraordinary truth.

Ships promptly in corrugated mailer with book wrapped in both craft paper and multiple layers of bubble wrap.