Bellow, Saul

The Dean's December

ISBN: 0060148497
New York, NY, USA: Harper & Row, 1982. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Saul Bellow. "The Dean's December is a tale of two cities, Chicago, Illinois, and Bucharest, Romania, a tale of East and West. It is also the story of a double crisis in the life of Albert Corde. Corde, the Dean, is not a real academic- this is anything but a campus novel- but a newspaperman who returned to his hometown to be a Professor of journalism and, eventually, Dean of Students. He is not a skillful administrator, far from it. The Dean has come to Bucharest with his wife, whose mother is dying. The grieving, passionate Mrs. Corde is not a worldly woman, and she is not able to deal with the cruel, bureaucratic difficulties she has to face. Solicitous, Corde tries to protect her from the authorities in what he refers to as "this bughouse country." He has troubles of his own in Chicago. There he has involved himself in the trial of two blacks accused of killing a white student. The case has become a public-relations and media circus and the Dean, a man more emotional than prudent, has made himself unpopular and has greatly embarrassed the college. The trial is winding to a close and Corde awaits the verdict, which arrives shortly after the death of his wife's mother." (from front flap) The acclaimed later novel by Saul Bellow (1915-2005), the great, much-honored Jewish-American author whose works are enshrined in the Library of America series along with those of his twentieth-century canonical contemporaries Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth et al. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $13.95 price & "02134182" printed at front flap), "First Harper & Row Edition" as stated on copyright page, first printing as indicated by number sequence thereon. On the title page, above printed title, Bellow has hand-written his signature in black ink. An essential Bellow collectible classic in its rarest contemporary trade form, greatly enriched by Bellow's signature. Obtained from our Brother Bookseller Michael Brophy of Doyle's Books in Fayetteville, NY at the Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair held on October 13, 2024. See also our item No. 6246. Book in very fine condition with only very slight wear to edges & corners of green-cloth front, back covers & spine; a touch of rubbing to edges of text block. Interior very fine with only a small irregular angled clipping at lower right edge/corner of rear blank beige-colored paste-down (undoubtedly a minor flaw as issued); tiny bumps at corners of a few page leaves. Dust jacket very fine with only a hint of rubbing, faint scratching & browning to front, back covers, spine & flaps; a bit of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #7088]

Price: $100.00