Disgrace : Double Signed By The Author

The First UK printing published by Secker & Warburg, London in 1999. 8vo., black publisher's boards lettered in gilt to spine with title deliberately crossed through in gold; together in the unclipped photographic wrapper (£14.99) featuring an image by Lucy Harmer; burgundy endpapers; The BOOK essentially fine, just very mild pushing to the spine tips; The WRAPPER fine and is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First edition, with full number line 1-10. The correct first issue, printed by Biddles Ltd. This copy double signed by the author to a tipped-in bookplate and directly (without dedication) to the title page. A copy of the ticket for the signing event is loosely laid in for provenance. This signed bookplate was provided by The Oak Tree Fine Press. 'J M Coetzee was instrumental in establishing Oak Tree Fine Press and has generously signed many books to assist our efforts. The provenance of the signature is thus guaranteed' (Oak Tree Fine Press). The Booker Prize winning novel from the Nobel Laureate. A deeply questioning and uncomfortable novel, 'Disgrace' tells the story of David Lurie, a middle-aged and divorced scholar who retreats to his daughter's smallholding after an affair with a younger student. Set against the backdrop of post-Apartheid South Africa, the book explores complex political, racial, and personal issues, and was described by one Guardian article as "intensely human, rooted in common experience and replete with failure, doubt and frustration." 'Disgrace' was the second work for which the author was awarded the Booker Prize. The first was in 1983, with 'Life & Times of Michael K'. Until 2001, when Peter Carey won his second Booker Prize for 'True History of the Kelly Gang', Coetzee was the only author to have been awarded the prestigious prize twice. "The irony does not escape him: that the one who comes to teach learns the keenest of lessons, while those who come to learn learn nothing." A fine copy. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.