James Bond First Editions

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

LE CARRÉ, John [pseudonym of CORNWELL, David John Moore] (born 1931).

London: Victor Gollancz, 1963. [Espionage thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.222; [2], blank. Publisher's VARIANT brown cloth, rather than blue, with gilt titles to spine, typographic dust-jacket priced at 18s. Book is fine, jacket a little edgeworn with a few short tears. Overall an attractive copy of the author's third novel, featuring George Smiley, double-agent Mundt, and burnt-out protagonist Alec Leamas. This brown version is much less common than the blue cloth, possibly being a trial or advance binding. The noted crime collector Otto Penzler owned a similar copy in brown. The author's breakthrough, which firmly established an alternative form to the James Bond cult and a new type of hero. Graham Greene considered it the best spy story he ever read and J.B. Priestley wrote that the book was 'superbly constructed with an atmosphere of chilly hell.'. Item #62114

Price: £2,250.00