Greene (Graham) Stamboul Train
£1,500
London, Heinemann, 1932.
First edition, first impression, second issue. 8vo. Original black cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A very good first edition of Greene’s gripping spy thriller which unfolds aboard the majestic Orient Express as it crosses Europe from Ostend to Istanbul. Second issue (as usual), with ‘Quin Savory’; the book was initially published on 1st December 1932, but author J.B. Priestley had seen an advance copy and threatened libel action over the character of Q.B. Savory, which he believed was an oblique reference to him. Consequently, all 13,000 copies had to be unstitched and cancels inserted to alter the offending text.
Out of stock
A little light spotting; cloth slightly softened at head of spine with small closed tear; jacket with a few small closed tears, chip from head of spine affecting title slightly, otherwise very good.
Jacket artwork by Youngman Carter.
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