Books

First Impression. Octavo (18.25cm); publisher's original yellow wrappers, with titles printed in black on spine and front cover; [6], 7-208pp. Inscribed by the author on the half-title page in the year of publication: "To Lily / with my love / Ray / London, 1958." This copy contains corrections throughout the text (presumed in an editorial hand), with a list of corresponding page numbers written in ink on the front wrapper - the last two (p. 175 and 137) written in Chandler's hand. Slight forward lean, wrappers showing some wear, small tears, creases, and some faint scattered soil; a few internal pages with offsetting, with a handful of foxed spots to the right edge of the text block, and a neat 4" split along the lower front joint; only Very Good. A proof copy of the final Philip Marlowe novel. "Marlowe is weakening (by his own standards), since he takes on an impossible girl who is running away from a quite imaginary threat and forces her to trust him. There is some silly back-and-forth with $5,000 of traveler's checks, a double fornication without much zest, and at last a transatlantic phone call summoning Marlowe to marry his one true love" (Barzun & Taylor 737). The only inscribed copy of the proof we've handled, and the only one bearing any corrections; given Chandler's brief notations on the front wrapper, we allow for at least the possibility that this copy passed through his hands at some point in the editorial process. Bruccoli A11.2.a; Baird 448.

Playback is Raymond Chandler's final novel, involving the private detective Philip Marlowe as he uncovers a complex web of lies and deceit.