KITH (First edition - first impression)

First impression of the true first edition, published in 1977. ***Near fine in beige cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine. The gilt is still beautifully bright. The boards are clean and unmarked. Head and tail of spine and bottom corner tips slightly creased. No reading lean. Spine tight. Page block edges clean. Internally the book is also near fine, with no inscriptions or annotations. No creasing and no tears. No foxing. Pages clean. ***In a near fine illustrated dustwrapper, which has not been price-clipped, retaining the original publisher's printed price of £3.95 net, which has been crossed through in blue ink. The dustwrapper is complete with absolutely no loss - no creases or tears. No fading. Just very slight rubbing at the edges. No browning - just some very light foxing to the foldover flaps. No fading, even to the spine. Dustwrapper bright. ***205mm x 135mm. 124 pages. ***'On arriving at Suez in March 1941 as a medical orderly, it is surprising, even a little alarming, to be greeted by a skeleton straight out of the family cupboard, grinning and dropping hints about the mysterious past. But there Uncle Raymond is, with his loud defensive laugh. One of the hints is a reference to "your aunt". She turns out to be Nadia, a very attractive Copt installed in Cairo, who persistently refuses to answer Raymond's letters no mater how despairing and pleading they might be. Faulkes is enlisted to track her down, an operation which produces results so bizarrely devastating that he is, while being hazy about what happened, marked for the rest of his life. This deft, stylish, beautifully intelligent comedy is P. H. Newby at his most entertaining; happily at home again in the mystery, the farce, the squalor and the splendour of that wartime Egypt where he lived and first won his spurs as one of the most considerable novelists now writing. It will delight his admirers and induce new recruits to swarm happily in their ranks.' (Quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper) ***'Percy Howard Newby CBE (25 June 1918 - 6 September 1997) was an English novelist and broadcasting administrator. He was the first winner of the Booker Prize, his novel "Something to Answer For" having received the inaugural award in 1969.' (Wiki) ***First impression of the first UK edition of "Notebook" by Robert Lowell, in very nice internal condition, but with some water staining to the boards and dustwrapper. ***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.…