Description
Signed first edition of The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton.
Octavo, xvii, [1], 266pp. Green boards, brown cloth spine, title stamped in gilt on spine, title stamped in black on front cover with illustration of train. Top edge stained green. Stated first edition on copyright page. Toning along top and bottom of boards, corners lightly bumped. Dampstain along bottom edge of spine, affects the lower gutter edge of a few last pages, but interior staining is faint. Overall, text is clean. Publisher’s original dust jacket, $7.95 on front flap, bright illustrations, rubbed along top edge, crease near lower edge of front panel, faint shelf wear. Dampstain on verso along bottom edge of spine and back panel. Signed by Michael Crichton on title page. A very good example of this best-selling historical novel, which is based on the Great Gold Robbery of 1855.
Michael Crichton later adapted this novel into a screenplay and worked as director on the 1978 British film The First Great Train Robbery, starring Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down. The film was released in the United States the following year under the title The Great Train Robbery. This won Crichton an Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay in 1980.
