FOUR STORIES: I SEE A LONG JOURNEY, INHERITANCE, PEOPLE TO PEOPLE, THIRD TIME LUCKY

London, England: Faber & Faber, 1987. First Edition. First Printing.. Softcover. Fine/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. London, England: Faber & Faber, 1987. Softcover. Fine/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. 150 pages. Retrospective collection of novella-like short stories. Four of Rachel Ingalls' finest works. The first appearance of the title in this Reissued Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent printings, of which there are several. Published in a small and limited first print run as a softcover original only that sold out upon publication. The First Edition is now rare. The book is very beautifully produced, featuring the macabre graphic art of Klimowski, which defined the look of Faber & Faber in the 1980's. Re-presents Rachel Ingalls' "Four Stories". Namely, "I See A Long Journey", "Inheritance", "People To People", and "Third Time Lucky". They previously appeared in "Three of A Kind" and "The Pearlkillers", and are brought back in this gem of a book for a wider audience. Rachel Ingalls is THE bewildering, eternal recluse among great late-modern writers in English. She never made a public appearance in her fifty-odd-year career as a published writer, and her publishing history is as bewildering as her tales. For devoted reader/collectors, the rules of thumb are fairly simple: a) All of her books first appeared in the United Kingdom, where she lived since 1964; b) All of them have been issued subsequently in the United States, sometimes under altogether different titles; and c) the American Editions remain eminently collectible, particularly for completists, because she has been served well by her publishers here in terms of both content and production values. One of the greatest storyteller-writers of our time, she is a latter-day Isak Dinesen whose theme is the sublime mystery of human existence. Once started, it is impossible to put down a Rachel Ingalls book. An absolute "must-have" title for Rachel Ingalls collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the publisher's specially - and beautifully - designed bookplate (that is neatly pasted on the inside front endpaper) by Rachel Ingalls. This title is a great collection. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of the First Edition Thus/First Printing (British) available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. It is the single most beautiful signed copy we have ever seen. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are in multiple subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Rachel Ingalls' "Mrs. Caliban" is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels in the English language of the 20th century. One of the finest writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER RACHEL INGALLS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0571145469.