American Psycho

1998, the first printing of the first English hardback edition

Author

Publisher

Printing Details

First edition thus, first printing, with the full number line of 1–9, and the dustwrapper price of £10.00 (the second printing onwards was £14.99). Hardback in dustwrapper. 20.5 × 13.5cm, 399pp.

Brett Easton Ellis' modern classic. "Patrick Bateman is twenty-six, handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. He works on Wall Street by day earning a fortune. At night he spends it in ways we cannot begin to understand. American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to face and it takes us on a head-on collision with America's greatest dream—and its worst nightmare".

American Psycho had an interesting publishing history. The American publishers, Simon and Schuster, withdrew the first US hardback in 1991 after the book drew a great deal of criticism for its sadistic violence, but were contractually obliged to issue the paperback edition. Picador took up the mantle and issued this edition, the first hardback edition in English in 1998.

Condition

Good condition. The book itself is in strong readable condition. There some tanning and finger marking to the page edges and a small mark to the pages' top edge. The boards have light bumping to the corners and spine ends. The book is free from inscription and the inner binding is sound. The dustwrapper is also good. As mentioned it has not been price-clipped (£10.00), but has a small taped repair to the inside at the base of the spine, this has lead to some visible creasing, there is also a small thin pen mark to the spine (just over the e of Easton). The wrapper is now within a protective sleeve. Overall, a good copy of a rare first hardback printing.

ISBN

9780330372480