Items related to Anatomy of the Spy Thriller
- PublisherGill & Macmillan
- Publication date1977
- ISBN 10 0717108325
- ISBN 13 9780717108329
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages260
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
ANATOMY OF THE SPY THRILLER
Published by
Gill and Macmillan, 15/17 Eden Quay, Dublin
(1977)
ISBN 10: 0717108325
ISBN 13: 9780717108329
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Quantity: 1
Seller:
Rating
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. First impression of the true first edition. ***Please note that this is an-ex library copy. Ink number to top of front free endpaper. "Cancelled" Bolton Libraries ink stamp to title-page, pencil classification number to top of publisher's copyright page (can easily be erased). Two plain white 'library' cards, one with a printed number to rear pastedown, partially hidden under rear dustwrapper flap. ***Very good in black cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to spine. Head and tail of spine slightly bumped. Pages clean. No foxing. No inscriptions. Spine tight. ***In a very good colour-illustrated dustwrapper that has not been price-clipped, showing original publisher's price of £6.95 net. Dustwrapper is not library-laminated. Slight fading to the red colour on the spine of dustwrapper. No tears. No fading to the red on the front and rear panels of dustwrapper. Front and rear panels of dustwrapper clean and bright. 224mm x 146mm. 253 pages including notes to pages and index to rear. ***'The spy thriller is a branch of popular literature which has an enormous international readership. One in four of all new books published in the USA at the moment is a thriller of some sort. Frederick Forsyth, John le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton have all become household names in numerous languages, not only as a result of the paperback revolution but also because of their literary techniques both as writers and entertainers. ***In this book, the author sets out to identify and analyse the various elements and formulae which are common to this distinct literary genre. Looking back upon John Buchan, Dornford Yates, and even Conrad for precedent, he also argues convincingly that many of the basic elements of the thriller are to be found in Homer and Virgil. ***Much emphasis is laid upon the extreme realism of the modern spy thriller; its lack of resemblance to the overwhelming bulk of actual intelligence work; the role of the spy thriller as compensatory fantasy, introducing the reader to epicurean living and to the corridors of political and other power; different attitudes towards killing from the ecstatic to the reluctant; the double agent and the remarkably consistent tendency to make him a physically nasty person; death as a principal theme and the assorted weaponry as an emotional focus. ***These themes - and there are many others - are studied by recourse to numerous well chosen and frequently amusing quotations, demonstrating the author's impressive acquaintanceship with his subject. ***The author Bruce Merry is a graduate of Oxford, Stanford and the National University of Ireland. Lecturer in Italian at University College Dublin, he is currently lecturing in Italian at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He has published several articles in scholarly journals on the contents of this book.' (Quote from inside front of dustwrapper blurb). ***First impression of the true first UK edition with minimal library markings in its original dustwrapper which is not library-laminated in nice clean condition. Very hard to find. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc. Seller Inventory # 6084
Buy Used
US$ 129.36
Convert currency