Doctorow, E.L.

Billy Bathgate

ISBN: 0394525299
New York, NY, USA: Random House, 1989. First Trade Edition. Hardcover. "Open this book and enter through his own words the perilous, thrilling world of Billy Bathgate, the brazen boy who has insinuated himself into the inner circle of the notorious Dutch Schultz gang to become good-luck charm, apprentice, and finally protege to one of the great murdering gangsters of his time. Meet the low-browed gunman Lulu rosenkrantz; the fastidious Irving, precise in everything he does, from mixing drinks to disposing of dead men; the financial genius Abbadabba Berman, who invents a way to change the day's winning number at the last moment; and of course the kid who was once known to the Bronx as Arthur Flegenheimer, the man now known to the world as Dutch Schultz. Like an urban Tom Sawyer in a world of horrors, Billy has come down from the tenement streets of the East Bronx to live in the glamorously evil Depression underworld that Schultz has created." (from front flap) The eighth published novel by E(dgar) L(awrence) Doctorow (1931-2015), the venerable, award-winning & beloved American author, among the greatest Masters of historical fiction. In this fascinating, page-turning historical novel which won three prestigious honors including the PEN/Faulkner Award, fact-based anecdotes on the lives, deeds & mileu of the legendary true-life NYC gangster Dutch Schultz (b. Arthur Flegenheimer, 1901-1935) & his lieutenants through the narration of an invented young acolyte- Billy Bathgate. This wonderful novel was the basis for the acclaimed film version starring Dustin Hoffman as Dutch Schultz (1991). Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $19.95 price printed at front flap, "2/89" at rear flap), "First Trade Edition" as stated on copyright page (published simultaneously with a limited edition), first printing as indicated by number sequence thereon (ending with "2" per contemporary custom of this publisher). We found & have retained, between pgs. 192-193, a vintage bookmark from the Birmingham, Michigan branch of the fabled Borders Book Shop, printed on one side only & in very fine condition. from the collection of Barbara (1935-2023) & Irving (1933-2018) Nusbaum, world travellers, connoisseurs, eminent collectors of art & books- the dearly beloved parents of this grieving writer. A classic Doctorow collectible, another particular & highly recommended favorite of this writer, in its rarest original trade form, with distinguished provenance. Book in very fine condition with only a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of brown-cloth front, back covers & spine; slight curvature of upper binding toward front; small areas of light rubbing, occasional spotting at edges of text block. Interior very fine, substantially mint. Dust jacket very fine with only very slight rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; a hint of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps; a touch of browning to flaps esp. at upper margin/edges. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #6818]

Price: $40.00