The Golden Honeycomb (Signed first edition)
Signed by Vincent Cronin to the parents of WW2 pilot Richard Hillary, and winner of the Richard Hillary Prize (1955)
Author
Publisher
Printing Details
First edition, first printing. Hardback in dustwrapper. 22 × 14cm, 267pp.
Signed and inscribed by the author to the ffep, "For Colonel and Mrs Hillary, a tribute to Richard Hillary, Vincent Cronin, January 1954". Richard Hillary was a Battle of Britain spitfire pilot who suffered extensive burns to his face and hands in September 1940. He was treated by Archibald McIndoe, becoming a member of the Guinea Pig Club. He was killed in 1943 during a training flight. His parents established The Richard Hillary Prize at Trinity College, Oxford to commemorate his life and it is awarded to a Trinity alumni for a written work. Vincent Cronin was awarded the Richard Hillary Prize in 1955 for The Golden Honeycomb.
The Golden Honeycomb, Cronin's first book, is a blend of travel writing, art history, and mythology. It follows Cronin’s personal quest across Sicily to find a legendary artifact: a golden honeycomb purportedly offered by Daedalus to Aphrodite at her temple in Eryx.
Condition
The book itself is in good condition but with blotchy foxing to the title page, and occasionally through the book but otherwise remaining in strong readable condition. The page with the inscription is clean. The dustwrapper is quite tatty with heavy edgewear, a tear to the front joint and rubbing to all edges.
Books are currently zero-rated for duty (as of January 2026), so the price shown is the price you pay.
Price
£40.00
