Click for full-size.
LITTLE CAESAR.
by BURNETT, W. R
- Used
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Greencastle, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Lincoln Mac Veagh, The Dial Press, 1929., 1929. First edition. First edition. Fine, bright, square copy in a neatly price-clipped dust jacket with some light professional restoration at the edges. Cesare Bandello (called Rico), ambitious Italian gangster who rises from petty hoodlum to leader of a gang through ruthlessness and treachery, is defeated at the peak of his success. An exceptional copy of a classic of the genre. A Haycraft/Queen Cornerstone mystery title. Filmed in 1931 by First National Studio with Mervin LeRoy as director, Francis Edward Faragoh, Robert N. Lee, Darryl Zanuck, and Robert Lord as screenwriters, and starring Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Glenda Farrell.
Synopsis
W.R. Burnett knew, first-hand, of the world he describes in his terse, vivid 1929 novel with a brutally ironic title-Little Caesar. Burnett worked as reporter in Chicago in the 1920s, and he observed the nobodies willing to cheat and kill their way to being somebodies. The novel's hero, Cesare Bandello, known as Rico, is a "gutter Macbeth," a bad guy who claws his way up through the Chicago gang, circa 1928. Though the very idea of Rico is inseparable from Edward G. Robinson's star-making performance in the 1930 film version of Little Caesar, Burnett's novel is an fuller experience, inspired in many ways by Machiavelli's The Prince. There is nothing heroic about Rico. He is not dashing or even an especially talented man, except that he seems to have a laser-like focus on what he wants. That immediately sets him apart from the slovenly hoods who surround him. His rise above them is easy to imagine, but as the novel's title suggests, so is his fall. Rico has a discipline and an energy that keep him from being distracted by petty jealousies and appetites, like most of his comrades. He is a cold, clear-eyed student of human nature who grows too sure of his mastery of the inferiors who surround him. That bit of hubris is ultimately his undoing. Rico grows a little too smug and satisfied with his success. He forgets that he has prevailed in a jungle, where the laws of survival are immutable and unsparing, even of a little Caesar.Reading Burnett is like downing a shot of whiskey-bracing and unmistakable, with a gratifying sting. At the distance of more than 70 years, Little Caesar remains a lean and mesmerizing character study that gets inside of Rico without ever attempting to make the reader like or understand him. Though it might not seem remarkable now, this perspective seemed to break new ground at the time. Little Caesar casts an amazing shadow. William Faulkner was influenced by the novel while writing Sanctuary, as was Graham Greene while writing Brighton Rock. Burnett once told an interviewer that Horace Thompson, who wrote the existentialist novel They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, said Little Caesar convinced him that he wanted to be a writer. It is no surprise that Burnett wound up in Hollywood, a successful screenwriter, as he continued to write novels. His style is a remarkable if often overlooked jewel of American genre fiction, and it helped shape the popular culture of the 20th century.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 32777
- Title
- LITTLE CAESAR.
- Author
- BURNETT, W. R
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- Lincoln Mac Veagh, The Dial Press, 1929.
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1929
Terms of Sale
BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
We accept checks and all major credit cards. Prices are NET to all. PA residents must add 6% sales tax. It is our preference to ship via either UPS or Priority Mail. All oversized books and all shipments outside the U.S. will be charged actual shipping, insurance, and handling costs. All parcels shall be shipped insured. All items may be returned within 7 days of receipt with prior notification. We request any items for return be sent by their original shipping route, be well packaged and fully insured.
About the Seller
BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
Biblio member since 2006
Greencastle, Pennsylvania
About BUCKINGHAM BOOKS
Buckingham Books specializes in new, used and rare books dealing with Mystery and Western Americana. Books in the mystery field include not only Mystery, but also Detective, Espionage, and Adventure Fiction. Our Western Americana Section offers books about the development of the American West. All books in our inventory are First Editions unless clearly stated otherwise.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- G
- Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Frequently asked questions
This Book’s Categories
Collecting Dr. Seuss
Whether you are into the pricey first editions or interesting Seussiana ephemera, this is a good starting point for building a book collection based on Dr. Seuss.
Collecting food and drink books
Nothing quite whets the appetite for rare and collectible books like old and vintage cookbooks. Be sure to check out our cook books and food section of our rare book room.
