BINSTEAD'S SAFARI

London, England: Faber & Faber, 1983. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. London, England: Faber & Faber, 1983. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 221 pages. The author's fourth novel. One of Rachel Ingalls' finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, of which there are several. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Rachell Ingalls' "Binstead's Safari". Her "Africa" novel, set in a lyrically evoked, imaginary Africa, her most original (yet underrated) creation. Even more so than in "Mrs. Caliban", she explores in "Binstead's Safari" our felt and real connection as human beings with our animal - as opposed to human - nature, our repressed yet deep ties with the Animal Kingdom (we are mammals, first and foremost), and with Nature as a whole. The novel's shocking ending would have collapsed in lesser hands. In Ingalls' deft hands, it is a triumph of art and truth over self-deception and false consciousness. As a literary achievement, "Binstead's Safari" is inescapably linked to Isak Dinesen, as homage and as an advance over the latter's work. Rachel Ingalls is THE bewildering, eternal recluse among great late-modern writers in English. She never made a public appearance in her fifty-odd-year career as a published writer, and her publishing history is as bewildering as her tales. For devoted reader/collectors, the rules of thumb are fairly simple: a) All of her books first appeared in the United Kingdom, where she lived since 1964; b) All of them have been issued subsequently in the United States, sometimes under altogether different titles; and c) the American Editions remain eminently collectible, particularly for completists, because she has been served well by her publishers here in terms of both content and production values. One of the greatest storyteller-writers of our time, she is a latter-day Isak Dinesen whose theme is the sublime mystery of human existence. Once started, it is impossible to put down a Rachel Ingalls book. An absolute "must-have" title for Rachel Ingalls collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed, dated (before publication), and inscribed in black fountain pen on the title page by the author: "To Peter - It looks good. There are no misprints; it's even got asterisks and the right number of dots. It's just about perfect. Thanks to your work on it. With love from the grateful author - Rachel May 9, 1983". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. The recipient, Peter Molden, who is named, was Rachel Ingalls' meticulous British editor. This title is a great book. This is the best such signed, pre-publication dated, and inscribed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Rachel Ingalls' "Mrs. Caliban" is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels in the English language of the 20th century. One of the finest writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER RACHEL INGALLS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 057113016X.