Psycho

One of the most famous horror novels in history, Robert Bloch's Psycho is a true classic for anyone who collects modern first editions. Bloch had already been an established science fiction writer, and was even a toastmaster for the famed Hugo Awards just a year before Psycho was published. Using a real life case of grisly murder in a small town in Wisconsin as inspiration, Bloch was truly able to tap into the minds of readers with Psycho. Not only is Psycho one of the foremost novels of modern horror fiction, it also continues the tradition of fiction based loosely on actual events, a tradition also shared by authors such as Truman Capote with his novel In Cold Blood. Psycho was first published in 1959 by Simon and Schuster, and it became immensely popular after Hitchcock's famed film adaptation was released just a year later in 1960. The first edition dust jacket is well known. It is relatively simple in design, with the title printed sideways featuring cracks through the letters. Because the dust jacket was printed on standard stock paper which was generally lacking in durability, the jacket should be expected to be browned or yellowed with age. The first UK edition of Psycho features a more colorful and detailed dust jacket, and the UK edition was published by Robert Hale in London in 1960. If you are a collector of modern first editions, or if you collect horror literature, you will definitely want to search for that perfect copy of Psycho to add to your bookshelf. Truly, this book caused quite the stir when it was first published, and it continues to influence readers and writers alike today.