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HOBAN, Russell

Riddley Walker (Limited Edition)

Riddley Walker (Limited Edition)

London: The Folio Society, 2017

Illustrated by BLAKE, Quentin

Regular price £365.00
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Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban. London: The Folio Society, 2017. Limited Edition signed by illustrator Quentin Blake [together with] a unique and rather interesting letter typed and signed by the author and possibly written to a reviewer or fellow writer.

Illustrated by Quentin Blake, with a postscript by Rowan Williams. 354 × 257 × 32 mm. Pp. [i–viii], 1–279 [280]. Type: Poliphilus and Blado with hand-drawn lettering for the title and chapter numbers. Illustrations reproduced by Tag. Printed and bound by Kösel in full cloth printed with a design by Blake. Printed edges. Pale brown endleaves. Cloth covered slip case. Edition statement reads in part ‘limited to 1000 copies, signed and numbered by the artist, and 20 lettered copies which are not for sale’. This is number 629. In addition to 39 colour illustrations in the text, Blake contributed an essay ‘Draw is a intersting word’. It is followed by Williams’s piece ‘Myth and “Knowledging” in Riddley Walker’. Russell Hoban’s genre-defying masterpiece with a new essay by Quentin Blake and a specially-commissioned postscript by Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.

A near-fine book with pages clean, bright and tightly bound. In like slipcase that just shows some scuffing to top and lower panels; else fine.

[together with]

A unique and intriguing letter from Russell Hoban, dated 3rd April 1976, typed and signed by the author on yellow paper. Measuring 21.5 x 30 cm, the letter appears to contain alternative or reflective text related to Kleinzeit — Hoban's 1974 metaphysical novel — with mention of malapropisms that suggest a connection to the “Firkin? Pipkin?” chapter. Possibly written to a reviewer or fellow writer, it closes with a handwritten sign-off: “Best wishes, Russ. PS: Mouse & Child is out in Puffin now.” In good condition, with faint traces of glue to the verso from previous tipping. A rare and personal insight into Hoban’s creative process, and a fitting companion to Riddley Walker, showing Hoban's evolving preoccupation with language, myth and meaning.

Published four years after the date of this letter in 1980, Riddley Walker is the tale of a boy in a post-apocalyptic England, told in a broken future English as he uncovers remnants of lost knowledge and power. It quickly earned widespread acclaim and a cult following, winning the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel upon publication.

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