NY, Doubleday, (1978). One of King's early novels, published by Doubleday in a remarkably cheap binding. A massive book -- 823 pages -- but nonetheless, a larger edition with "restored" text was issued in 1990. This copy belonged to Burton Hatlen, King's English Professor at the University of Maine, and bears his underlinings and marginal notations, as well as a short list of the pages that have typos. Hatlen wrote a critical work on King's The Shining; he was one of the three dedicatees of King's novel The Long Walk, written as Richard Bachman and published the year after this book; and King mentions Hatlen in his book On Writing. Hatlen apparently read the book closely: his underlinings and comments begin a couple of hundred pages into the book and continue sporadically until the next to the last page, and his marginal comments respond to the text as well as putting it in context. At one point he cites "Gollum and Smeagol," Tolkien's fictional character, for comparison with one of King's characters. This copy has also been signed by King at a later date. A bulky volume, with an indentation to the spine; otherwise near fine in a very good dust jacket with several small chips and edge tears. A wonderful association copy, with a letter of provenance laid in. [#026579] $3,500

All books are first printings of first editions or first American editions unless otherwise noted.

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