THE WINTER GHOSTS. [Plus a Short story exclusive to Waterstone's.]

UK,8vo HB,no dw/dj,as issued,illustrated 1st edn. FINE+. No owner inscrptn and no price removal to rear cover.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,matt background,glossy,silver gilt conifer leaves/branches decorated board's edges with centrally impressed silver gilt illustrated 7 conifer trees and impressed silver gilt lettering,by Brian Gallagher,illustrated front board,along with a small circular adhesive silver label with 'Contains a SHORT STORY exclusive to Waterstone's' label; and similarly silver gilt illustrated+ lettered spine/backstrip,rear board with silvered border edged design as front board and story precis lettering and adhesive,b/w barcode label.Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present.Top edges whilst bright are with minimal,light toning,fore-edges brighter and clean without blemish or foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound – no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips – near pristine - possibly unread apart from my own collation, and immaculate/clean repeated coloured Southern France regional map illustrated endpapers.UK,8vo HB, no dw/dj,as issued,b/w illustrated 1st edn,3-253pp+ 257-269pp [paginated] includes 25 chapters each with an [unpaginated] b/w vignetted,dated chapter separator page,a mixture of part-page and 7 full-page b/w wood-cut/lino-cut/scraperboard style illustrations throughout the text,(Short story unillustrated), acknowledgements,author's note,a note about the author,exclusive short story; plus [unpaginated] half-title,thumbnail b/w conifer trees illustrated title page, an epigram (Rudyard Kipling) with board's repeated foliage border edging design but in grey,b/w illustrated Ariege regional map with thumbnail map of France inset,a contents list/table,2 language - English/French traditional,regional song verse,and to the rear an [unpaginated] short story's b/w repeated thumbnail conifer trees illustrated title separator page and 6pp blanks as last pages.In this copy,the short story's entire signature is loose without any attachment - not sewn, not glued? Is this part of the books design or a fault,working loose over the period of time?
Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional for a book of it's age,and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It really is an exceptional copy for brightness and cleanliness. The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends,lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case,it took his beloved brother and,at times ,his peace of mind. In the winter of 1928,still seeking resolution,Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees.During a snowstorm,his car spins off the mountain road.He stumbles through woods,emerging in a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa,a beautiful woman also mourning a lost generation.Over the course of one night,Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories.By the time dawn breaks,he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries.By turns thrilling,poignant and haunting,this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage. 'THE WINTER GHOSTS' is a gorgeous illustrated novel inspired by 'The Cave', Kate Mosse's short story written for the Quick Reads Initiative for adult emergent readers. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded, after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE.
** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **