Women Writers, A-B
2. ADAMS, Alice. Careless Love. (NY): New American Library (1966). Her first book. Owner information conspicuously inked out on front flyleaf; else near fine in a dust jacket with one edge tear and several light ink marks; otherwise near fine. An uncommon first book.
3. ADAMS, Alice. Families and Survivors. NY: Knopf, 1974. Her second book, a novel. Remainder mark; else fine in fine dust jacket.
4. "AI" (ANTHONY, Florence). Cruelty. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. The hardcover issue of the author's highly praised first collection of poems. Laid in are several photocopied pages with a holograph note across the top: "Dear ___ & _____ here's an article I've done for Ms./ It tell [sic] you a lot about me I think. Florence." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket and inscribed by the author "with affection," and dated 1976; the photocopies are folded in thirds.
5. AI. Killing Floor. Bos: HM, 1979. Her second collection, the Lamont Poetry Selection for 1978 of the Academy of American Poets. The hardcover edition, near fine in a price-clipped dust jacket with a small sticker removal mark on the front panel. Inscribed by the author to African-American writer, Barry Beckham.
6. ALLENDE, Isabel. Of Love and Shadows. NY: Knopf, 1987. Second novel by the expatriate Chilean author of The House of the Spirits. Fine in fine dust jacket with slight crimp at crown.
7. ALLENDE, Isabel. Eva Luna. Franklin Center: Franklin Library (1988). The true first American edition of her third highly praised novel. Leatherbound limited edition, with gilt page edges, silk marker, and signed by the author. With a special introduction by her for this edition. Fine.
8. -. Same title, the first American trade edition (NY: Knopf, 1988). Remainder stripe top page edges and sticker shadow front flyleaf; near fine in near fine dust jacket.
9. ALLENDE, Isabel. The Stories of Eva Luna. NY: Atheneum, 1991. Her first collection of stories. Light staining to cloth and markings to rear board. Near fine in fine dust jacket and signed by the author in 1993.
10. ANGELOU, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. NY: Random House (1969). The first book, an autobiography, by this African-American poet who received wide recognition when she delivered the Inaugural poem for Bill Clinton's Presidential inauguration. Fine in fine dust jacket. A very nice copy of a book that has become quite scarce in recent years.
11. ARNOLD, June. Applesauce. NY: McGraw-Hill (1966). The author's first book, a landmark of gay literature. The author later founded the influential Daughters Press, the lesbian publishing house which introduced Rubyfruit Jungle, among others, to a wide readership. Fine in fine dust jacket. A very nice copy of an uncommon book.
12. ARNOW, Harriette. The Dollmaker. London: Heinemann (1955). First English edition of her best-known novel, which deals with a family uprooted from their native region and relocated to the urban confusion of Detroit during the Second World War. This book was a bestseller upon publication in the U.S. and later became a contemporary classic of feminist literature and a standard on college campuses because of the strength of its central, female character. This copy has a tear at the upper edge of the front endpaper, otherwise very good in an edgeworn pictorial dust jacket, which differs markedly from the U.S. edition. Warmly inscribed by the author "for/ Virginia Patterson/ who in no/ small measure/ was responsible for/ the success of the/ American edition, not/ this poor substitute/ Harriette Simpson Arnow/ Thanks for the pen" [her pen ran out of ink during the inscription]. Laid into the book are two autograph Christmas cards with lengthy notes on them. Signed copies of this book, and autograph material by Arnow, are quite uncommon.
13. ASTLEY, Thea. The Slow Natives. NY: M. Evans (1967). First American edition of this Australian author's first book to be published in the U.S. Small ink price on front free endpaper, otherwise near fine in rubbed, very good, price-clipped dust jacket.
14. ASTLEY, Thea. An Item from the Late News. St. Lucia: U. of Queensland Press (1982). Spine cloth faded, else fine in fine dust jacket.
15. ATWOOD, Margaret. The Trumpets of Summer. (Toronto): (Berandol Music) (1964). An early, ephemeral piece by Atwood-a libretto for a choral suite for mixed chorus, four soloists, male speaker, and six instruments; commissioned by the CBC for the Shakespeare Quatercentenary. First performed in Montreal on November 29, 1964. Music by John Beckwith; although only the text is printed here. Fine in stapled wrappers. It is unlikely that many of these would have been created, let alone have survived all this time. A scarce, early item, preceding her first novel by five years.
16. ATWOOD, Margaret. The Circle Game. (n.p.): House of Anansi (1967). The second edition, and so-called "first trade edition," of this early collection of poetry, first published in 1966, and winner of the Governor General's Award. 1/100 numbered copies signed by the author. An early limited edition for her, and a small limitation. Fine in slipcase.
17. ATWOOD, Margaret. The Edible Woman. Toronto: McClelland (1969). The true first edition (Canadian) of her first novel. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with a long thin chip along the lower edge of the front panel and other minor edgewear. Signed by the author.
18. ATWOOD, Margaret. Procedures for Underground. Boston: Little Brown (1970). The first American edition, and the first hardcover edition, of this collection of poems, which was her second book published in the U.S. Signed by the author. Fine in a slightly spine-faded, very good dust jacket.
19. ATWOOD, Margaret. Surfacing. Toronto: McLelland & Stewart (1972). The correct first edition-i.e., Canadian-of her second novel. Owner name and address front flyleaf; else fine in fine dust jacket. Widely considered a contemporary feminist classic.
20. ATWOOD, Margaret. Power Politics. NY: Harper & Row (1973). First American edition, a collection of poems. This is the simultaneous hardcover edition. Fine in fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
21. ATWOOD, Margaret. Encounters with the Element Man. Concord: Ewert, 1982. The first separate edition and first book publication of this story, originally written in 1971 but never collected. Of a total edition of 160 copies, this is one of 100 copies in wrappers, signed by the author and the designer, Michael McCurdy. Fine. An attractive, uncommon edition.
22. ATWOOD, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. (Toronto): McLelland & Stewart (1985). The correct first edition (Canadian) of what many consider her best, or at least most powerful, novel-a haunting feminist vision of a dark future. Made into an ambitious, moderately successful film. Very near fine in like dust jacket.
23. ATWOOD, Margaret. The Robber Bride. NY: Doubleday (1993). First U.S. edition of this novel. Unobtrusive owner name front flyleaf; else fine in fine, price-clipped dust jacket. Together with The Book Group Companion to Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride -- an uncommon, ephemeral item -- fine in stapled wrappers. For the two:
24. BAINBRIDGE, Beryl. Harriet Said... NY: Braziller (1973). First American edition of her first novel to be published in the U.S. Inscribed by the author, with her own editorial comment: "This is alright. Almost the best one." Fine in fine dust jacket. A very nice copy of a not very common book.
25. BAINBRIDGE, Beryl. The Bottle Factory Outing. NY: Braziller (1975). First American edition. Inscribed by the author with what appears to be the continuation of a conversation: "I will read the Truman Capote story - tomorrow." Fine in fine dust jacket.
26. BAINBRIDGE, Beryl. Sweet William. NY: Braziller (1976). First American edition. Inscribed by the author with an allusion to the literary genesis of the book: "This is Alan Sharp [a British novelist] - He wasn't all that sweet..." Fine in near fine dust jacket.
27. BAINBRIDGE, Beryl. A Quiet Life. NY: Braziller (1977). Advance review copy of the first American edition. Inscribed by the author with the comment "This is what I think is the best one - whatever that means." Fine in fine dust jacket.
28. BAINBRIDGE, Beryl. Injury Time. NY: Braziller (1977). The first American edition. Inscribed by the author with the comment that "this is last year - it's alright but slight." Fine in fine dust jacket.
29. BANKS, Lynne Reid. The L-Shaped Room. London: Chatto & Windus, 1960. The correct first edition of the author's highly praised first novel, which became one of the defining films of the early 1960s. Offsetting to endpapers and foxed there and on page edges; thus only very good in an about very good jacket with one significant chip at the upper back panel and a light stain along the rear flap fold and offsetting on the rear flap. Nicer than it sounds, and quite a scarce book. The author is, in recent years, noted as the creator of The Indian in the Cupboard series of children's books.
30. BARNES, Djuna. The Selected Works of Djuna Barnes. NY: Farrar Straus Cudahy (1962). A volume collecting Spillway, a collection of stories; The Antiphon, a play; and Nightwood, a novel. The author revised The Antiphon for this edition; Nightwood includes the introductions written by T.S. Eliot for the first and second editions. This copy is inscribed by the author in the year of publication. Fine in an about very good dust jacket with mild spot rubbing and light soiling to white rear panel and an unobtrusive tear to the upper edge of the front panel.
31. BEATTIE, Ann. Distortions. NY: Doubleday, 1976. Her first book of stories. With this book and her simultaneously issued first novel, Chilly Scenes of Winter, Beattie instantly gained recognition as a voice of her generation-survivors of the social and political turmoil of the 1960s who, by the time they turned 30, in the Seventies, were already weary and jaded. An important debut. Fine in very good dust jacket with rubbing to the corners and two small edge tears.
32. BEATTIE, Ann. Chilly Scenes of Winter. Garden City: Doubleday, 1976. Her first novel, which was made into a film. Trace wear to cloth at spine extremities; else fine in very good dust jacket with a small spot of rubbing on front panel, minor wear to the spine extremities, and a short tear at the upper front flapfold. A reasonably nice copy of a not-very-well-made book.
33. BEATTIE, Ann. Falling in Place. NY: Random House (1980). Advance reading copy of her second novel, fourth book. Near fine in wrappers, with photocopies of reviews by John Leonard and John Sayles laid in. Signed by the author.
34. BEATTIE, Ann. Love Always. NY: Random House (1985). Uncorrected proof copy. Publisher's informational sheet detaching from front cover; wrappers slightly soiled and worn at base of spine; very good. Inscribed by the author with "Best wishes."
35. BENEDICT, Elizabeth. Safe Conduct. NY: FSG (1993). Her third book, a novel. Her first novel, Slow Dancing, was a finalist for the American Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Award for best novel of the year. Fine in fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
36. BERRIAULT, Gina. The Descent. NY: Atheneum, 1960. The very scarce first book by a writer whose short stories have been universally praised by other writers, and have recently been collected in an omnibus volume that has elicitied enormous praise. One of her stories, "The Stone Boy," was the basis for a highly regarded film with Robert Duvall. Berriault has been a well-kept secret for many years, known widely in the literary community but little-known to the general public. This copy is fine in a rubbed, very good dust jacket with a small abrasion on the front panel.
37. BERRIAULT, Gina. Conference of Victims. NY: Atheneum, 1962. Her second book, like her first, a novel. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with one short edge tear; with a letter laid in from the publisher to noted literary critic Alfred Kazin, asking for a review. Again, an uncommon title.
38. BERRIAULT, Gina. The Son. (NY): New American Library (1966). Her fourth book, third novel. Fine in a dust jacket with one small open tear on the upper edge of the front panel; still about near fine.
39. -. Another copy. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with one small chip on the rear spine fold.
40. BETTS, Doris. The Astronomer and Other Stories. NY: Harper & Row (1965). The fourth book by this North Carolina author. Fine in near fine dust jacket with trace dampstaining across the upper rear panel.
41. BLOOM, Amy. Come to Me. (NY): HarperCollins (1993). Her first book, a collection of stories, two of which were included in The Best American Short Stories anthologies for 1991 and 1992. Jacket blurbs by Dorothy Allison, Annie Dillard, Ursula LeGuin and Alice Adams. Fine in fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
42. BOWEN, Elizabeth. The Demon Lover. London: Cape (1945). First edition of this collection of stories, for which there was no comparable U.S. edition. A fragile wartime book, printed on thin paper to wartime production standards. Mild fading to boards near spine; near fine, lacking the dust jacket. Uncommon.
43. BRONER, E.M. Her Mothers. NY: HRW (1975). Review copy of the author's third book, an important and groundbreaking novel that explored women's relationships to their mothers as well as to their own sexuality. Fine in fine dust jacket.
44. BROOKS, Gwendolyn. In the Mecca. NY: Harper & Row (1968). A collection of poems by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Annie Allen among others. Near fine in dust jacket and inscribed by the author.
45. BROPHY, Brigid. Hackenfeller's Ape. NY: Random House (1953). The author's first novel. Fine in very near fine, price-clipped dust jacket.
46. BROWN, Rita Mae. A Plain Brown Rapper. Oakland: Diana Press (1976). The first printing, in brown wrappers, of an early collection by the author of Rubyfruit Jungle-a milestone of gay literature which became a bestseller and helped bring overtly gay writing, i.e., writing by gay writers on gay issues, into the mainstream. This volume consists of essays from the early '70s on lesbianism and feminism. Small owner name on title page; otherwise fine in wrappers.
47. BROWN, Rosellen. Some Deaths in the Delta. (n.p.): U. of Massachusetts Press (1970). Her first book, a collection of poems. This is the hardcover issue. Warmly inscribed by the author to another writer in 1976: "For _____ and ______./ My south, which was/ probably very different/ from your south: some/ easy poems even a/ narrow-minded old story-/ writer, set in his ways,/ will understand./ Rosellen/ May 1976." Fine in a spine-faded, very good dust jacket with an edge tear near the upper front spine fold. A fairly uncommon book and a nice literary association.
48. BROWN, Rosellen. Street Games. Garden City: Doubleday, 1974. Her first book of fiction, a collection of stories. Warmly inscribed by the author to a well-known writer and his wife: "For ______ and _____,/ For such whole-hearted/ listening and such generous/ approval -- THANKS seems/ a tiny word./ Rosellen/ May 1976." Edge fading to cloth; near fine in very good dust jacket with minor wear at and near the spine extremities. A nice inscription and an excellent association.
49. -. Same title, the uncorrected proof copy. Publisher's informational sheet present but detached from front cover, leaving glue residue there. Mild creasing to rear cover; still near fine in tall wrappers. Uncommon format.
50. BROWN, Rosellen. Civil Wars. NY: Knopf, 1984. Well-received novel of the early Sixties and the Civil Rights Movement. Fine in near fine dust jacket, slightly spine-faded with two closed tears upper front panel. Signed by the author.
51. BURROWAY, Janet. Eyes. Boston: Little Brown (1966). First book published in the U.S. by this writer who originally came from Arizona but who, because she was living in England, had her first few books published there prior to their U.S. publication. Small tape square front flyleaf; very good in dust soiled, very good dust jacket. A quite uncommon title
52. BURROWAY, Janet. The Dancer from the Dance. Boston: Little Brown (1965)[i.e., 1968]. First American edition of her second book published in this country. Near fine in a very good dust jacket chipped at upper front panel. A scarce book.
53. BURROWAY, Janet. Opening Nights. NY: Atheneum, 1985. A novel by the author of The Buzzards (a Pulitzer Prize nominee) and Raw Silk (a National Book Award nominee). Fine in fine dust jacket. With a warm, full-page inscription to another writer, dated in the year of publication, on the half-title.