CONTANGO (Signed By the Author)

Hilton, James

Verlag: Ernest Benn, London, 1932

Hilton, James. CONTANGO. London: Ernest Benn, (1932). First Edition. Soon after published in the United States as "Ill Wind." A FINE copy in a priced VERY GOOD to NEAR FINE dust jacket (just a few edge nicks here and there), SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. The best and most desirable copy we've seen in commerce. All Hilton novels before LOST HORIZON are exceedingly rare in this kind of advanced collector's condition. CONTANGO is a literary tour-de-force, a trifle unreasonably placed in Hilton's second tier of works behind Lost Horizon, Goodbye Mr. Chips and Random Harvest. Its plot and theme best exemplify Hilton's most often seen motif: that the random element in the universe always increases. The title change to ILL WIND is actually a good one. (Contango clearly sounded too much like the title of a Joseph Conrad tale). In fact, this amazing novel begins with a murder in the Far East, moves swiftly to hysterical comedy in Switzerland, back to ill doings in London, a wild sojourn in Hollywood, chaos in a South American republic, order restored in New York, climaxes with gunfire at a European international conference, and finally resolves in a quaint English village. Each venue greets us with a fascinating new character: a Soviet diplomat, a Catholic priest, a compromised company director, a self-involved film actor; in short, a parade of characters held together by a single link. If you're interested in collecting first editions of the lesser novels of James Hilton, or just a fan of great lost novels, this is a glorious example in utterly remarkable condition. And SIGNED to boot. In a custom cloth protective folding box. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 003314

Bibliografische Details

Titel: CONTANGO (Signed By the Author)
Verlag: Ernest Benn, London
Erscheinungsdatum: 1932
Einband: Hardcover
Zustand: Fine
Zustand des Schutzumschlags: Very Good
Signiert: Inscribed by Author(s)
Auflage: First Edition.