Description
For sale: a Rare and Exceptional signed first edition, first printing hardcover copy of Secrets and Surprises: Short Stories by Ann Beattie. First Edition stated, 1978 Random House. First Printing, with complete print line starting at 2 above the First Edition statement on the copyright page, as per publisher.
The exterior of the book is in Near Fine condition with clean, bright boards, strong title ink on a convex spine. Also with, light foxing on page blocks, tight binding, no spine tilt, rolled and lightly rolled spine ends, mild edge wear, and lightly rubbed corners. The interior of the book is also in Near Fine condition with the author’s signature on the first free end paper with no inscription. 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 Very Good condition with mild surface wear and moderate to heavy edge wear and a 1/2″ tear mended with acid-free tape. First state jacket with $8.95 price on the front flap. Looks good in a new Brodart archival wrap.
These fifteen stories by Ann Beattie garnered universal critical acclaim on their first publication, earning Beattie the reputation as the most celebrated new voice in American fiction. Today these stories — “A Vintage Thunderbird;” “The Lawn Party, ” ” La Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans,” to name a few — seem even more powerful, and are read and studied as classics of the short-story form. Spare and elegant, yet charged with feeling and with the tension of things their characters cannot say, they are masterly portraits of improvised lives.
Ships promptly in a secure mailer with the book wrapped in both craft paper and bubble wrap.
