Pritchett, V.S.

8vo, first edition, presentation copy, with a long inscription by the author to Alfred Hitchcock,  original red cloth stamped in blind and gilt, dust-jacket, preserved in specially made cloth slipcase, some slight edge-wear

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, when appropriate.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A fine presentation copy. The inscription reads:
"For Alma & Hitch | To commemorate so many convivial meetings and with affection, from an author who | (though possibly convivial himself) has failed to transfer these feelings to the characters |in this book. And is now, owing to your hospitable temptation, very likely to put |something dreadful in that wheelbarrow. V.S. Pritchett or, another, Vic. April 1962."

Someone—presumably Pritchett himself, but perhaps one of the Hitchcocks—has left a few pencil lines in the margins of  the story "The Wheelbarrow," highlighting several moments in a single lengthy passage. The first paragraph marked merits quoting in full:

"I was a drunkard," he declaimed, relishing each syllable separately. "I was a liar. I was a hypocrite. I went with women. And married women, too!" His voice rose. "I was a fornicator. I was an adulterer. Always at the races, too, gambling: it was senseless. There was no sin the Devil did not lead me into; I was like a fool. I was the most noteworthy sinner in the valley; everyone spoke of it. But I did not know the Lord was lying in wait for me." (p. 92)

The speaker then recalls an accident in a mine, and the epiphanic madness to which it led.