The Confidential Agent: An Entertainment
New York: The Viking Press, 1939.
First American edition, first printing. [vi], 302 pp. Bound in publisher's gray cloth stamped in black and orange, yellow topstain. Near Fine with very light rubbing to extremities, traces of ownership inscription to front pastedown, and light toning throughout. In Near Fine unclipped dust jacket with light toning and soiling, moderate edgewear, and fine scratches to front and spine. A very nice copy of a beautifully designed book. Graham Greene, in need of money, wrote his spy thriller in just six weeks with the help of Benzedrine. He later wrote that the book didn't feel like one of his own: "It was as though I were ghosting for another man." The novel was a great success and in 1945 was made into a movie starring Charles Boyer and Lauren Bacall.
Price: $1,500