A Matter of Conviction by Evan Hunter - 1959

London: Constable and Company Ltd, 1959. First UK edition. Hardcover. Blue Boards with Silver Gilt Lettering on Spine. Original, Very Good Condition/good.
Evan Hunter, born Salvatore Albert Lombino,(1926 - 2005) was an American author and screenwriter best known for his 87th Precinct novels, written under his Ed McBain pen name, and the novel upon which the film Blackboard Jungle was based. Hunter, who legally adopted that name in 1952, also used the pen names Ed McBain, John Abbott, Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, and Richard Marsten, among others. While looking to start a career as a writer, Lombino took a variety of jobs, including 17 days as a teacher at Bronx Vocational High School in September 1950. This experience would later form the basis for his novel The Blackboard Jungle (1954), written under the pen name Evan Hunter, which was adapted into the film Blackboard Jungle (1955). Ed McBain, his best known pseudonym, was first used with Cop Hater (1956), the first novel in the 87th Precinct crime series. He continued to use the pseudonym for decades, notably for the 87th Precinct series, and the Matthew Hope detective series. Under the Hunter name, novels steadily appeared throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s, including Come Winter (1973) and Lizzie (1984). Hunter was also successful as screenwriter for film and television. He wrote the screenplay for the Hitchcock film The Birds (1963), loosely adapted from Daphne du Maurier's eponymous 1952 novelette.
237pp DJ clipped, small name on fep under the dj flap otherwise clean throughout.

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