Books

First Edition. First issue without out the reviews on the front flap and rear panel, original price "18s net" on the front flap. An usually nice copy with crisp corners, small bump on bottom of rear cover. Dust jacket with no wear to folds and corners. John Fowles' first novel, made into a film with Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar. Ironically, The Collector seems to be a favorite for real-life serial-killers.

The Collector is the debut novel of English author John Fowles. It was first published in 1963 by Jonathan Cape and is about a lonely young man, Frederick Clegg, who works as a clerk in a city hall and collects butterflies in his spare time. Clegg is infatuated with Miranda Grey, a middle-class art student at the Slade School of Art. Unable to make any contact with her but obsessed with his unrelenting desire, Clegg decides to add her to his 'collections' by kidnapping her and holding her captive in the cellar of his rural farmhouse. What follows is a chilling exploration of power, art, freedom, and the consequences of human actions.