First edition, first printing. Printed by Heinemann, London in 1963. Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dustjacket Condition: Near Fine. Clean boards and tightly bound. No marks to the page edges with clean
pastedowns front and rear. Slightest of even, age-related toning to the
page edges. The dustjacket is unfaded with some rubbing to the edges,
mainly to the head of the spine. Otherwise it presents well. Not
price-clipped. Publisher's price of 18s. Anthony Burgess's tenth novel.
Set in Russia, the story focuses on an antique dealer from Sussex on a
trip to Leningrad with his American wife and his attempt to sell dresses
on the black market to raise money for a widowed friend. Highly
farcical at times, the novel satirises Western versus Eastern ideologies
during the Cold War. Overall, a Near-Fine copy of this amusing Anthony
Burgess novel.