165. Golding (William) Lord of the Flies, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to endpaper, Graham Greene's copy with his ownership inscription to endpaper, Autographed Letter signed by the author agreeing to sign Greene's copy of the book 'unless you'd like to swap the one signed by Greene for one signed by Golding!' loosely inserted, original cloth near-fine, dust-jacket, spine slightly discoloured, spine ends and corners a little creased, very light spotting to flaps, overall near-fine, preserved in custom drop-back box, 8vo, 1954.
est. £8000 – £12000
A superb association copy of Golding's classic first novel. Golding had a huge amount of respect for Greene's talents, refering to him as "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man’s consciousness and anxiety." Published in the same year, Greene's short story The Destructors contains numerous thematic parrallels with Lord of the Flies, and demonstrates the similarly bleak outlook of both writers.