GREENE, Graham (1904-1991)

The Return of A. J. Raffles [Signed]

London: Bodley Head, 1975. Limited Edition. Hardcover. No. 132 of 250 signed limited-edition copies bound in boards (of which only 170 were for sale); the first trade edition was issued as a paperback original. Small, slim 8vo (189 x 113mm): 80pp. Publisher's copper-colored paper over boards, spine lettered in gold, tan end papers; copper dust jacket (unpriced) printed in brown. A very fine copy (pristine and apparently unread) in a Fine Jacket. Not in Wobbe (see A62a for the paperbound issue). Miller 56. Fine / Fine. Item #BB2077

An Edwardian comedy in three acts, which opened at the Aldwych Theatre, in London, on December 4, 1975. Set in the late summer of 1900, it centers on the infamous gentleman burglar and cricketer, A. J. Raffles—presumed dead in the Boer War—who returns to Albany where, with his friend Lord Alfred Douglas, he plots to rob the Marquess of Queensberry. Raffles was the creation of E. W. Hornung, who was brother-in-law to Arthur Conan Doyle, and Raffles was one of the chief rivals of Sherlock Holmes. The idea for the play, Greene said, occurred after seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Sherlock Holmes. "For Greene, who [was] an expert on Victorian and Edwardian Crime Fiction, . . . Raffles seems almost natural subject matter." (Wobbe) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

Price: $274.00