Published by Jonathan Cape, London; 1967. 8vo. 306pp. First edition, first impression. Condition: Fine/Very Good+
Bound in original brown cloth boards with title in gilt to the spine. The binding is square and tight and in very smart condition, with no marks or damage and just a touch of bumping to the spine ends. Inside, the pages are clean and bright, free from blemishes and wear, with barely a hint of toning and just a little speckling to the top edge.
The book is housed in its original, first issue dust jacket. It has been price clipped, but it is otherwise vibrant and bright, with just some shelf wear to the edges and with one closed tear to the top.
In all, this is a very smart, collectible first edition of Roth's third book, his only one to feature a female protagonist. She is a ferociously moralistic young woman, one of those implacable American moralists whose "goodness" turns out to be highly destructive. The novel is based around her struggles in a small mid-western town in the 1940s. This smart book will sit well on any shelf, complementing any collection.