SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF MILWARD-OLIVER'S ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LEN DEIGHTON, ONE OF ONLY 375 COPIES SIGNED BY DEIGHTON, ALONG WITH PUBLISHER'S LAID-IN PAGE PROOF SIGNED BY HIM

(DEIGHTON, Len) MILWARD-OLIVER, Edward. Len Deighton. An Annotated Bibliography 1954-1985. Maidstone, Kent (England): Sammler, 1985. Octavo, original black paper boards, original dust jacket. $400.

Signed limited first edition, number 279 of only 375 copies signed by Deighton—"a major influence on the course of espionage fiction"—with publisher's accompanying laid-in "Uncorrected Page Proof" from the novel London Match, signed by Deighton above the proof page, with foreword by Julian Symons.

Bibliographer Milward-Oliver writers herein that this book "was born of a long admiration of Len Deighton's writing… he has proven a major influence on the course of espionage fiction." In the extensive interview also featured, Deighton describes how he came to write Ipcress File (1962) and his role in its dust jacket design, reveals his idea for the promotional features of Billion-Dollar Brain (1966), and notes his belief that "a writer should destroy clichés and make people rethink assumptions." He also speaks of his writing process and the extensive research required for his three non-fiction books, Fighter (1977), Airshipwreck (1978) and Blitzkrieg (1979), which prompted his fictional trilogy of Berlin Game (1983), Mexico Set (1984) and London Match (1985). In the book's foreword by renowned author and critic Julian Symons, he writes of his long friendship with Deighton, one that began with publication of Ipcress File—in Symons' words, Deighton's "astonishingly good first novel." With publisher's laid-in "Uncorrected Page Proof from the novel London Match… Signed by Len Deighton London / 7 August 1985."

A fine copy.