Greene, Graham

England Made Me. London: Heinemann, 1947 - The Heart of the Matter. New York: Viking, 1948. First American edition. - The End of the Affair. London: Heinemann, 1951. First edition. All 8vo, original publisher's cloth and dust jackets; minor wear.

Raymond Chandler (La Jolla address stamps in each).

minor wear.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Raymond Chandler's copies of Graham Greene

Chandler was notoriously sensitive about his place in the literary pantheon and so being compared as coming in second to Greene as a thriller writer in Edmund Wilson' famous essay "Who Cares who Killed Roger Ackroyd" annoyed Chandler as much as the comparison flattered him. "Literature is bunk," he wrote in response, filled with "fancy boys, clever, clever darlings, stream-of-conciousness ladies and gents and editorial novelists...they should go back to school and stay there until they can make a story come alive." (Hiney, pg. 171).

Greene must have rankled him in particular, as of The Heart of the Matter, present here, he remarked it had everything that made a good book "except verve, wit, music, gusto and magic." (Hiney pg. 173)