HOMER & LANGLEY

New York: Random House, 2009. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. The eleventh and next-to-last of Doctorow's novels is this fictional account of New York City's notorious eccentrics, the Collyer brothers. Homer, a lawyer, and Langley, a professional concert pianist, sons of a wealthy NYC physician, began, after the death of their mother, to withdraw from society and eventually barricaded themselves in their Fifth Avenue brownstone. They became recluses and hoarders and were found dead in 1947 in their house which was jammed with more than 120 tons of newspapers and junk. While basically accurate, Doctorow has changed some of the facts in the Collyers' history to better fit his description of a changing NYC in the first half of the 20th century. First edition, first printing. About 6 3/4 x 9 1/2 inches, 208 pages in dark-blue, paper-covered boards and a black backstrip with gold lettering on spine. The pictorial dustjacket shows a photo of two male figures in overcoats and hats next to an ice-choked creek looking at a cityscape background. The buildings are reflected in the surface of the creek. Author's name in gold; title in white. The dj's backpanel, a repeat of the front but in grey and white, contains five blurbs praising earlier Doctorow books. Boards and text are complete, clean and unmarked, without noticeable damage or flaws. Not ex-library, not remaindered. Dustjacket shows a bit of edge wear but no tears, no creasing or chipping, no scratches. Not price-clipped. A collectable copy of one of the last works of a very under-appreciated writer.