KING, QUEEN, KNAVE

New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1968. Book Club (BCE/BOMC). . Hardcover. Good Plus to Very Good/Good Plus. Nabokov, considered today one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, wrote this, his second novel, in Russian in 1928 while living in Berlin. It is a classic story of adultery, featuring Franz, a young man from a small town sent to work in the Berlin department story owned by his rich uncle, Dreyer, whose young and beautiful wife, Martha, becomes enamoured of young Franz and starts an affair with him under the nose of her oblivious husband. There is a twist in the plot at the end. Written using his pen name, V. Sirin, the book was republished in an English translation by Nabokov's son, Dimitri, in 1968. This copy is the book club edition of the 1968 translation, a first edition thus. About 6 x 8 1/2 inches, 272 pages, plus a one-page biographical note, bound in black cloth-covered boards with red-orange endpapers, gold and grey lettering on spine and black backstrip. The front panel of the dustjacket is a simple graphic design of author's name and book title on a white background. The back panel contains a full-page, b & w headshot photo of Nabokov. The black cloth boards have faded to grey, somewhat unevenly and text edges show some soiling and foxing. However, binding remains firm and hinges are intact. Corners very lightly bumped. Text is complete, clean and unmarked by highlighting or underlining. The dustjacket's white front panel and spine are lightly soiled but show only minor edgewear. No significant tears or creases or chipping. Not price-clipped. A very decent reading copy of Nabokov's second novel.