"IT IS NOT EASY TO LOSE A GOOD WOMAN. IF ONE MUST MARRY, IT IS BETTER TO MARRY A BAD WOMAN"

GREENE, Graham. Loser Takes All. London: William Heinemann, (1955). Octavo, original blue cloth, original dust jacket. $950.

First edition of Greene's revealing look at the world of high-stakes gambling at Monte Carlo—"the novel says much about Monte Carlo… but more about Greene"—basis for the 1956 film from his book and screenplay, in colorful original dust jacket.

Greene was fascinated by gambling, which is at the center of Loser Takes All. He credited British film producer/director Alexander Korda with sparking his interest: "He gave me some money to gamble with. I doubled it, and gave him back what he had given me" (Guardian). Greene admits the novel's tycoon "is undeniably Korda… I can still remember him saying to me… what Dreuther said in my book… 'My dear boy, it is not easy to lose a good woman. If one must marry, it is better to marry a bad woman'" (Graham Greene Film Reader, 465). The novel is also "Greene's first published experiment… to link comedy (especially satire, parody and burlesque) to the religious thriller" (Wobbe). "'I had just finished Quiet American,' Greene recalled, 'The mood of escape was still there, but this time it took me no further than Monte Carlo… to work long hours at the Casino tables… and to write what I hoped would prove… something which neither my friends nor my enemies would expect. It was to be called Loser Takes All. A reputation is like a death mask. I wanted to smash the mask'" (Ways of Escape). The novel "says much about Monte Carlo.. but more about Greene" (Baxter, 202). Basis for the 1956 film with Greene's screenplay, starring Glynis Johns and Rossano Brazzi. "First Published 1955" on copyright page. Miller 34. Wobbe A34a. See Connolly, Modern Movement 88.

Book fine; light edge-wear, faintest soiling to price-clipped near-fine dust jacket.