JONATHAN STRANGE AND MR. NORRELL: A NOVEL (SIGNED - CREME JACKET VARIANT) by Clarke, Susanna - 2004

Bloomsbury, 2004 Book. Illus. by Rosenberg, Portia. Near Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. Hardcover first edition, first printing and true first edition. Stated First Edition with "1" present in complete number line. (Despite the "First US Edition" statement on the copyright page, the US edition precedes the UK edition by 3 weeks.) Not a book club, remainder or ex-library copy. Signed by Clarke on the title page. This copy is the coveted creme jacket variant. The creme jacket shows some faint scuff marks, a defect for which these unlaminated creme jackets are particularly prone. Also, there's an unfortunate tape ghost, very faint but visible, on the outside of the jacket's spine panel near the heel approx. 4.5 cm x 1.0 cm in size. Very light bumping at head and heel of jacket spine panel, with a dent at lower spine hinge of front jacket panel. Light bumping with associated crinkling at upper tips. Two, small faint dents in top edge of page block. Aside from these defects a near fine copy in near fine jacket. A straight, square copy without price-clipping or previous owner's marks. All First Edition points are present: "First U.S. Edition 2004" stated with full number line present. Red endpapers with $27.95 price intact. (True first printings have red endpapers with a creme or black jacket. All later printings have white endpapers and black or red jackets only.) The first edition was issued in two jacket states: one creme and the other black. Also, neither the the creme nor black colored jackets were laminated by the publisher, making them very prone (especially the creme jacket), to wear and smudges. ''A quite extraordinary novel, not least because of the quiet, almost leisurely ways by which it achieves its extraordinariness.'' - Gary K. Wolfe, Locus. The US edition is well past its 8th printing and appears with red jackets. Award History: 2005 Nebula Award Nominee (lost to Camouflage by Joe Haldeman); 2005 Locus Award Winner for Best First Novel; 2005 World Fantasy Award Winner for Best Novel); 2005 Locus Award Winner for Besf First Novel; 2005 Hugo Award Winner for Best Novel; SF Site's Best SF and Fantasy Books of 2004: Editors' Choice; 2004 British SF Award Nominee for Best Novel (lost to River of Gods by McDonald); Borders Books Best of 2004 Science Fiction & Fantasy. NY Times Books: 100 Notable Books of the Year; Locus 2004 Recommended Reading List: First Novels..