Books

Octavo, cloth. First edition. Probable earliest state of the hardcover trade binding with publisher's monogram stamped upside down on spine panel (Currey binding B1). Signed on the title page by Bradbury. Four stories appear here for the first time in book form, "The Dwarf," "The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse," "Touched With Fire," and "The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone." The remainder are reprinted, most with revisions, from DARK CARNIVAL (1947). Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 259. Jones and Newman (eds), Horror: 100 Best Books 55. Survey of Science Fiction Literature IV, pp. 1571-73. See Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 4A-46. See Barron (ed), Horror Literature 3-34 and 4-52. A fine copy in very good dust jacket with very light wear at edges, largely spine ends and lower edge of front panel, and title on spine panel faded to light orange. A nice copy. (#162374).

'The October Country' is a 1955 collection of nineteen macabre short stories by American writer Ray Bradbury. It reprints fifteen of the twenty-seven stories of his 1947 collection Dark Carnival, and adds four more of his stories. Each story is accompanied by a macabre illustration by Joseph Mugnaini. The stories in this collection touch on the themes of the autumn season, dealing with the fantastical, the weird, and the melancholic, conjuring the essence of October and its mix of anticipation and apprehension.