Parker, Robert B.

THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT [Signed]

Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1974. First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, 186 pages. In Very Good condition with Very Good condition dust jacket. Spine is white with black lettering. Dust jacket protected by mylar covering, price uncut: "$5.95" on front flap, has mild shelving wear and age-toning along extremities, two small closed tears along front tail edge, mild creasing, scuffing, and age-toning along spine. Boards have mild rubbing wear and light water-warping along tail edges, faint discoloration likely due to damp-staining along rear cover (interior completely unaffected). Bound in publisher's terra cotta cloth. Textblock has faint gray striations along tail edge, head edge dyed red and has mild sun-fading and small speckled liquid stains. Signed flat on title page by Robert B. Parker. DL Consignment. Shelved Room C.

1400019

Special Collections - Upstairs

Price: $500

NOTES

THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT was American author Robert B. Parker's debut into the Mystery/Thriller canon he remains a fixture of today. The novel introduced Detective Spenser, whose background takes much inspiration from Parker's own. Parker based Spenser on his own experiences serving in the Korean War, where de-segregation of the US military had begun to occur. Inspired by an increasing push for inclusion, Parker's novels took on a more modern feel featuring Black, Mexican-American, Jewish, and even homosexual characters. Parker transformed the Mystery genre for changing tastes beyond the disillusioned tropes worn out by his precursors. The success of the Spenser series in print led to television and movie adaptations of the character's exploits by big-name network, ABC. Parker expanded to write a few more mystery series and some well-liked Western novels, none as popular as Spenser. This signed, first edition of THE GODWULF MANUSCRIPT marks not just the beginning of Parker's career, but a cornerstone in the evolution of detective fiction.