DEAD BABIES
London: Jonathan Cape, 1975. First Edition. Hardcover. The author's second novel, a parody of Agatha Christie's country house mysteries, concerning a group of friends who convene at a rural manor to take drugs. A number of Amis' characteristics show up here for the first time: mordant black humor, obsession with the zeitgeist, authorial intervention, a character subjected to sadistically humorous misfortunes and humiliations, and a defiant casualness. Octavo. Original black cloth binding, with gilt titles. A near fine copy in a near fine, price-clipped dust jacket with just a hint of edgewear.
From the library of revered English actor, comedian, musician, and writer Eric Idle, accompanied by a letter of provenance. Idle (b.1943) is a founding member of the British comedy troupe Monty Python, as well as the parody rock group The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot.
In a posting for his Eric Idle Online! blog concerning his May reading in 2013, Idle wrote: "Perhaps the hardest thing to do in the world is write a comic novel. This absolutely rocks it in a tale of the drug induced, sexually indulgent world of young people in the Seventies. Laugh out loud story-telling, this goes off like a rocket, and even ends darkly, and not sentimentally, which is the downfall of most comic novels. I found a nice 1975 first edition to read and I loved it. Darker and funnier than even his Dad." Near fine / Near fine. Item #75506
Price: $350.00