Title: The Cement Garden
Author: Ian McEwan
Published: 1978
Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London
First edition/first impression (‘First published 1978’); UK; hardback with dust wrapper (not price-clipped, showing £3.50 net); covered in clear, removable protective wrapper

Very Good+ / Near Fine : a little bumping to head & foot of spine, previous owner’s name & date neatly in ink at top right corner of front free endpaper, otherwise clean & bright & unmarked; dust wrapper has just a little pushing at head & foot of spine

The first novel published by British writer Ian McEwan, preceded only by two collections of short stories. Set across a long hot Summer, four children – Jack, Julie, Sue and Tom – find themselves abruptly orphaned. All the routines of childhood are cast aside as the children adapt to a now parentless world. Alone in the house together, the children’s lives twist into something unrecognisable as the outside begins to bear down on them.

This was written when McEwan still had the nickname “Ian Macabre”, on account of his often disturbing subject matter. It’s a long way from here to the Tallis family’s country estate and Henry Perowne’s bouillabaisse.

It was adapted into a 1993 film of the same name by Andrew Birkin, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Andrew Robertson.

True first edition – the first printing of the first British edition.

Ian McEwan won the Man Booker Prize with Amsterdam (1998). In 2001, he published Atonement, which was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. His other books include Enduring Love, Saturday & On Chesil Beach. In 2011, he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize, and The Times featured him on their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".

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