First UK Edition, first printing. Jonathan Cape, London 1950. 8vo., 254 pp.
Hemingway's first novel published 10 years after "For Whom The Bell Tolls". The majority of the contemporary reviews were negative. Nonetheless it was a bestseller and later literary reviews were much more positive.
"Hemingway's novel opens with Colonel Richard Cantwell, a 50-year-old US Army officer, duck hunting near Venice, Italy at the close of World War II. It is revealed that Cantwell has a terminal heart condition, and most of the novel takes the form of a lengthy flashback, detailing his experiences in Italy during World War I through the days leading up to the duck hunt. The bulk of the narrative deals with his star-crossed romance with a Venetian woman named Renata who is over thirty years his junior." (Wikipedia)
First UK edition, Jacket A (first printing) (Grissom A.22.2.a). Jonathan Cape, London Sept. 4th.,1950 (published 3 days before the US publication).
Book is in very good condition except some slight fading to spine and light skewing to text block. All pages are bright and clean.Dustjacket is in very good condition except some light browning to spine and light chipping/creasing to spine ends and miniscule rubbing to edges. Some minor signs of use to the edges. Price (9s. 6d. net) is intact. DJ is now protected by a new transparent archival sleeve.
