"DRIVING BACKWARD DOWN THE HIGHWAY OF LIFE": CADILLAC JACK, INSCRIBED BY LARRY MCMURTRY

MCMURTRY, Larry. Cadillac Jack. New York: Simon and Schuster, (1982). Octavo, original half red cloth, original dust jacket. $700.

First trade edition of "the best novel Larry McMurtry ever wrote," inscribed by him on the title page: "For Roswitha, almost a book about book collecting, Larry McMurtry."

McMurtry's eighth novel, a rollicking, satirical look at life in Washington, DC, "proves his knack for storytelling… In learning to accept himself as a perpetual wanderer, Jack becomes the most satisfying male character McMurtry had yet created, almost a match for his strong female characters" (Jane Nelson). Even as late as 2000—some 15 years after the publication of McMurtry's arguably most famous book Lonesome Dove—the Texas Observer proclaimed Cadillac Jack "the best novel Larry McMurtry ever wrote." Recipient Roswitha Mott is a member of the family that has run the antiquarian book business Howard S. Mott since 1936. McMurtry's well-known engagement with the rare book trade began in his twenties as a book scout, and he ran his own book store, Booked Up, for over 40 years. Published the same year as the signed limited edition of 250 copies.

A fine inscribed copy.