CELLE QUI N'ETAIT PLUS. (DIABOLIQUE)

First Printing. A Fine copy in a Very Good+ example of the rare dustjacket. The jacket has one shallow chip at the crown of the spine, with a light rubbing and a several short closed tears to the extremities. The French crime fiction duo's first novel, preceding the American edition ("The Woman Who Was No More") by two years. "Celle Qui N'Etait Plus" is the story of two womenthe fragile wife and the willful mistress of the sadistic headmaster of a boys boarding schoolwho hatch a daring revenge plot after enduring both physical and verbal abuse. Basis for "Les Diaboliques" (Diabolique), the 1955 masterpiece by directed by Henri-George Clouzot, starring Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, and Paul Meurisse. A cornerstone film source title, particularly scarce in the original dustjacket. Criterion #35.