Product Description

Based on the popular BBC Radio 4 series Rare Books, Rare People, "Tolkien's Gown" and Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books is a veritable feast of the tales behind some of the most iconic titles to have graced British publishing, and fascinating anecdotes about the authors who wrote them. It starts with the story of how Graham Green arranged a meeting in his hotel room to sell a signed copy of "Lolita" for £4,000 to the author of this book, Rick Gekoski, over a glass or ten of vodka. He resold the book for £9,000 in his hungover state the next day to Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin and in later years, it went on to fetch $264,000 at auction in Christies. With all the other behind-the-scenes stories, this becomes a gem of a book, tales about Tolkien, Potter, Orwell, Larkin, Hemingway and more, representing a treasure trove of trivia for book fans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #708894 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
Based on the popular Radio Four series, Rare Books, Rare People, but featuring extended essays on each book and author, Tolkien's Gown entertainingly appraises several heavyweights of modern literature from the perspective of a rare book dealer. Whether he is discussing William Golding anxiously trying to sell his manuscript of Lord of the Flies, sniffy critical reactions to Kerouac's On The Road, or publisher's falling out about differently priced editions of Ulysses, Gekoski always has an interesting tale to tell. The only drawback is the author's rather irritating and self-satisfied habit of announcing how much cash he made from the sale of particular books, or his ruing missed opportunities to make even more. Fortunately Gekoski's glee at his profits is outweighed by his sharp sense of humour and by his love for books themselves - as literature and as artefacts. This aspect of his work provides a delightful subtext as Gekoski often finds himself caught in the age-old bookdealer's bind between the need to sell books to make a living and the desire to possess and cherish them as objects. (Kirkus UK)