Published by Andre Deutsch, London; 1971. 8vo. 256pp. First edition, first impression. Condition: Fine/Fine.
Bound in original black cloth boards with title in gilt to the spine. The binding is square and tight and in smart condition with just a touch of bumping to the spine ends. Inside, the pages are clean and bright, free from blemishes and marks and with very little signs of toning to the edges.
The book is housed in its original dust jacket. It is vibrant and bright, with no marks or damage, save a touch of bumping to the spine ends. Illustrated by Sam Houston.
In all, this is a lovely example of this modern first by Naipaul. Winner of the Booker Prize in 1971, this work is a sequence, part fiction, part documentary, and at its heart is a novel of great brilliance (blurb). The novel is told with a framing narrative and three short stories, "One Out Of Many", "Tell Me Who To Kill" and the title story "In A Free State", each tale centres around the theme of freedom and the price of obtaining it, with the stories' protagonists facing 'alienation, disruption and racial tension in a perilous and unpredictable world' (Booker Prize Foundation).