Description
First edition of Stoner by John Williams, in first state dust jacket.
Octavo, [6], 278pp. Brown paper boards over yellow cloth. Title stamped in black on spine. First printing statement on copyright page. Solid text block, light dust along top edge, ownership notation on front free endpaper. In the publisher’s first state dust jacket, $4.95 on front flap, chipping to spine with some loss, closed tear to back panel, faint toning to spine, a scarce example of the first state dust jacket. Cover art by Ellen Raskin.
The first printing of Stoner, published in 1965, was met with positive critical reviews but limited commercial success, selling less than 2000 copies. It was reissued as a mass-market paperback in 1972 and has enjoyed numerous printings since. Blumhouse Productions announced in 2017 that Andrew Bovell would be adapting Stoner into a screenplay for a film directed by Joe Wright and starring Casey Affleck.
