FIRSTS Magazine, November 2003, Volume 13, Number 9 (Horace McCoy)

Robin H. Smiley, 1998. Softcover. Very Good. FIRSTS: The Book Collector's Magazine. November, 2003, Volume 13, Number 9 issue, an invaluable magazine resource for book collectors. This issue focuses on Collecting Horace McCoy, who was an American novelist whose gritty, hardboiled novels documented the hardships Americans faced during the Depression and postwar periods. McCoy grew up in Tennessee and Texas; after serving in the air force during World War I, he worked as a journalist, film actor, and screenplay writer. McCoy also wrote five novels, including They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1935) and the noir classic Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1948), both of which were made into movies many years later. Though underappreciated in his own time, McCoy is now recognized as a peer of Dashiell Hammett and James Cain. A first edition bibliography is included. Also featured in this issue is an article on the American film noir cycle between 1939 and 1959 and its relationship to literature. This period was turning out films which gave independent women and actresses such Joan Crawford, Bette Dave, Claudette Colbert and Rita Hayworth "a run that has not been rivaled since." Included is a bibliography of important first edition novels which were made into films. An in-depth article on collecting the niche genre of golf mysteries is included. Surprisingly, there are many including seven novels and short stories by Agatha Christie, reportedly a golf widow resulting in the divorce from her first husband. She is quoted as saying she wrote about golf not because she liked it, but because she hated it. Clean copy with minimal shelf wear. 68 pp. 11" x 8 1/2". Photographs of or additional information about this item are available on request. All inquiries answered promptly.