The Walnut Door by John Hersey

Privately printed under the auspices of The Franklin Library exclusively for the members of The First Edition Society, this full leather-bound, 227 page, Limited First Edition of John Hersey's, The Walnut Door, which precedes the Alfred A. Knopf edition, features rich brown, tooled morocco leather over boards stamped with 22-karat gold embossing; a full leather ribbed spine stamped with 22-karat gilt lettering and decorative gilt; chocolate brown moiré silk end papers; bright gilt fore-edges all round; sewn-in, chocolate brown, satin page marker; illustrations by Allan Mardon; and a special 2-page message from the author (not found in other editions).

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The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré

Winner of the Crime Writers Association's Gold Dagger Award for Best Mystery Novel and privately printed under the auspices of The Franklin Library exclusively for the members of The First Edition Society, this full leather-bound, 546 page, Limited First Edition of John le Carré's, The Honourable Schoolboy, which precedes the trade edition, features rich, tooled leather over boards stamped with 22-karat decorative gilt; ribbed spine stamped with 22-karat gilt lettering and decorative gilt; moiré end papers; bright gilt fore-edges all round; sewn-in, satin page marker; illustrations by Ben F. Wohlberg; octavo (6" x 9"); and a special 2-page message from the author (not found in other editions).

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The Human Factor by Graham Greene

Residing on The New York Times bestseller list for no less than six months, The Human Factor is considered Graham Greene's chef-d'oeuvre in the genre of modern spy fiction. A tale of betrayal, love, and death, The Human Factor endeavors to present, minus the superfluous glamour, glitz, and overt gadgetry of Ian Fleming's Agent 007, a pragmatic portrait of Cold War espionage via masterful character development, plausible dialogue, and ingenious plot twists.

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Anna Hastings by Allen Drury

Penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Allen Drury and privately printed under the auspices of The Franklin Library exclusively for the members of The First Edition Society, this full leather-bound, 304 page, Limited First Edition of Anna Hastings, features Burgundy, Antique-rubbed, topgrain cowhide over boards stamped with 22-karat gold decorative gilt; a full leather ribbed spine stamped with 22-karat gilt lettering and decorative gilt; moiré end papers; bright gilt fore-edges all round; sewn-in, burgundy, satin page marker; illustrations by Uldis Klavins; and a special 2-page message from the author (not found in other editions). Included with this very special edition is an 8-page booklet entitled Notes from the Editors, which includes biographical data; comments by Drury's contemporaries, reviewers, and various luminaries; as well as a portrait of Drury by Allan Mardon.

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Whistle by James Jones

Published posthumously and privately printed under the auspices of The Franklin Library exclusively for the members of The First Edition Society, this full leather-bound, 499 page, Limited First Edition of James Jones', Whistle, which completes the trilogy begun with From Here to Eternity and continued by The Thin Red Line, features Tara Brown, topgrain cowhide over boards stamped with 22-karat gold decorative gilt; a full leather ribbed spine stamped with 22-karat gilt lettering and decorative gilt; moiré end papers; bright gilt fore-edges all round; sewn-in, brown satin page marker; illustrations by Howard Rogers; and a special 3-page message from the author (not found in other editions). Included with this special edition is a 6-page booklet entitled Notes from the Editors, which includes biographical data; comments by Jones' contemporaries, reviewers, and various luminaries; as well as a portrait of Jones by Uldis Klavins.

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History—A Novel by Elsa Morante

Few works of modern Italian fiction have received the overwhelming critical and popular acclaim that accompanied the publication of Elsa Morante's epic novel History (La Storia). Morante, one of Italy's leading literary figures, had written a masterpiece, according to many of the Italian critics who lavished praise on the work. The Italian people were quick to join the applause. Unbelievably, and without precedent, the first edition of 100,000 copies was sold out in days and the Einaudi publishing house had to rush new editions into print. The reasons for all the excitement are really not very hard to understand. For History is the most important novel to come out of Italy since the war and, in an international context, the peer of any book so far written on the World War II experience. Now, with this deeply felt and beautifully written translation of History by William Weaver, Morante will surely take her place in American literary consciousness as one of the great writers of our era. Perhaps the response of Natalie Ginsburg, the renowned writer and critic, best expressed the general verdict: “History is the most beautiful novel of the century.”

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