Shepard, Jim

Nosferatu

ISBN: 0679446672
New York, NY, USA: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. First Edition, Second Printing. Hardcover. Inscribed, signed & dated by Jim Shepard to Laurence & Nancy Goldstein. "From this prodigiously talented writer, a stunningly original "life" of F.W. Murnau, the German director. In the history of cinema, this novel's protagonist and subject ranks as a founding father, not least for his legendary horror film, Nosferatu. But here he is revealed as a hermetic genius who turns, tragically, against himself, becoming in a sense his own vampire. What shadows Shepard's Murnau- through the airfields of the Great War to cafes and clubs in Berlin in the twenties, and to the virtual invention of filmmaking- is the conflict between his impossibly high ideals and the heartbreaking memories of love betrayed and the lover who died in the trenches." (from front flap) The imaginative, speculative work of historical-biographical fiction by Jim Shepard (b. 1956), the acclaimed American novelist & short story author. The subject here is F(riedrich) W(ilhelm) Murnau (1888-1931), the brilliant & pioneering German film director, whose haunted life was sublimated into the creation of the Expressionist classic Nosferatu- the first & still-most-unforgettable vampire film. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, "Second Printing, May 1998" as stated at copyright page (first "Published April 8, 1998" as stated thereon). At title page, Shepard has hand-written, signed & dated in bold black ink: "For Larry & Nancy,/ old friends,/ with affection-/ (signed) Jim Shepard/ 11/99." "Larry & Nancy" are Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), the esteemed American author, film critic, editor & educator here at the University of Michigan; & his wife, our good friend Nancy Goldstein. An essential, rich & rewarding Shepard collectible in which "From provincial Germany, Briefly through Hollywood in its early days, to the South Seas, Nosferatu charts a life at once artistic, intellectual, and deeply human" (front flap), in its penultimately rarest contemporary form, greatly enhanced with his warm author-to-author inscription & date close to publication; with most-distinguished, relevant association & provenance. Book in very fine condition with only a touch of rubbing & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of front, back covers & spine. Interior very fine with only some mild, thin vertical blister-wrinkling across right length of blank front paste-down (undoubtedly as issued); otherwise appearing substantially mint. Dust jacket very fine with only very light rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; a hint of wear, age-toning & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps esp. spine-edges, corners; previous seller's barcode-price sticker of none other than Shaman Drum, the legendary bookstore of our dear late friend & early TMB mentor, the great Karl Pohrt (1947-2013) affixed over publisher's information at lower middle area of rear cover. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #8999]

Price: $80.00