Reporter: A Novel

LEVIN, Meyer

Published by The John Day Company, New York, 1929

About this Item

Octavo, 409pp. About very good in the publisher's black cloth, stamped in orange. Mild general wear to extremities, including fraying to spine ends, and there is a faint waviness to the fore-edge of the entire page block. The contents are clean, but for occasional faint marginal tidemarks. Still a sound, clean example. A wonderful and quite important association copy, SIGNED and INSCRIBED by Levin in a contemporary hand on the dedication page. Levin has crossed out his cheeky printed dedication ("To Whomever it May Concern") and inscribed the book: "To Henry Justin Smith who raised me from a pup. Meyer Levin." Smith was the Editor of the Chicago Daily News in the 1920s, when Levin was one of the lead reporters on the Leopold and Loeb murder case. One of the most sensational stories of the period, it's salaciousness was enhanced by the Chicago Daily News's penchant for drama. Smith, as editor, likened the paper's style under his leadership to a novel, leaning heavily on dramatic narratives to communicate the facts of a story. Levin's long career as a novelist and reporter was no doubt heavily influenced by this early crucible, as he based his 1956 novel "Compulsion" on the Leopold and Loeb case (this novel was adapted into a 1959 film of the same name, starring Orson Welles). Levin's colleague under Smith at the Daily News was Ben Hecht, whose novel "The Front Page" (later adapted into several films, most notably "His Girl Friday," starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell) contained similar themes of journalistic integrity in a dirty world with dirty crimes. A significant copy of Levin's first book, with a contemporary inscription to a major figure in his life. Seller Inventory # 10822

Bibliographic Details

Title: Reporter: A Novel

Publisher: The John Day Company, New York

Publication Date: 1929

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very good-

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: First Edition.