INSCRIBED BY IRVING WALLACE TO HIS LITERARY AGENT

WALLACE, Irving. The Three Sirens. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963. Octavo, original russet cloth, original dust jacket. $250.

First edition association/presentation copy of Wallace’s story of clashing cultures and shifting values, inscribed by the author to his influential literary agent Paul Gitlin, “For Zelda & Paul — affectionately — Irving — Feb. ’65.”

Six Americans face challenges to their morals and mores when they visit an exotic Polynesian island. The recipient of this copy was celebrated lawyer and literary agent Paul Gitlin. "Gitlin came to prominence by negotiating innovative deals in the 1960s and early 1970s, when literary auctions were a relatively new phenomenon and authors' lawyers and agents were becoming stars in their own right. Gruff and charming, Gitlin was credited by one client, the novelist Irving Wallace, with winning the author a $2.3 million, four-book contract in 1972" (New York Times). Gitlin also represented the estate of Thomas Wolfe, and the Thomas Wolfe Soceity still awards an annual "Zelda and Paul Gitlin Literary Prize" to best scholarly article published about Wolfe.

Dust jacket with light toning and light rubbing, short closed tear to rear panel. A near-fine inscribed copy with notable provenance.