SIGNED BY ROSS MACDONALD

(MILLAR, Kenneth) MACDONALD, Ross. Black Money. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966. Octavo, original half brown cloth, original dust jacket. $2200.

First edition of Macdonald's "powerful" novel, the 13th in his award-winning Lew Archer series, signed on the title page by Macdonald.

Black Money stands at a turning point in a group of Lew Archer novels, from Galton Case (1960) to Blue Hammer (1976), that Matthew Bruccoli highlights as Macdonald's defining "quest cycle… one of the splendid achievements in American fiction" (Nolan, Ross Macdonald, 411). Published the same year Paul Newman starred in Harper, the first film based on Macdonald's detective, Black Money "is a powerful novel, set against the backdrop of a millionaires' playground in southern California and peopled with unforgettable characters. While Archer's clients in this and other books are rich and powerful, Macdonald's characterization is perhaps at its most masterful when dealing with the little people, life's victims whose pathetic dreams are the fuel for tragedy" (Pronzini & Muller, 1001 Midnights). "First Edition" stated on copyright page. Bruccoli, Checklist, 43-44. Magill, 1135-40. Reilly, 987-89. Bruccoli & Layman, 243. Steinbrunner & Penzler, 262-63. Hubin II:I,527. Barzun & Taylor 2308.

A fine signed copy.