F I N E B O O K S & M A N U S C R I P T S
RARE SUPPRESSED FIRST ISSUE
58. Stamboul Train GREENE, Graham
Heinemann, 1932. First edition, first issue. Original black cloth lettered in gilt to the spine. Endpapers on thicker stock, possibly supplied later. A very good copy, slightly cocked with a little wear to the corners and spine. Light scattered foxing to early pages. [40941] £4,500 The minor character of Q.C. Savory, an ever-so-slightly ridiculous Cockney novelist, had been created by Greene as a rather cruel parody of J.B. Priestley. Priestley (also a Heinemann author) having received an advance copy to review for the Evening Standard had taken exception to this lampooning and threatened legal action, causing the publishers to recall all advance copies and make changes to the text to appease Priestley. “My suggestion that we should fight the libel action was brushed aside. Evans made it clear to me that if Heinemann were going to lose an author, they would much prefer to lose me. Thir- teen thousand copies of the book had already been printed and bound. Pages would have to be substituted, and I must share the cost. Alterations had to be made at once, on the spot, without reflection.” - Graham Greene ( A Sort of Life ). The various changes included Q.C. Savory to Quin Savory. Savory’s references to Dickens were changed to Chaucer or Shakespeare and his penchant for the pipe (for which Priestley was fa- mous) was changed to cigars. Only a handful of copies with the original text survived the cull and it is now very rarely seen in commerce.
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