The Crust on Its Uppers (First Edition)

COOK, Robin. The Crust on Its Uppers. London: New Authors [Hutchinson], 1962.

Crown 8vo. Original black boards. Spine lettered in white with small decorations in green and ochre. Original unclipped pictorial dust jacket, design by Timothy Birdsall. 189, [ii] pp. First edition. The author's first novel, published under his birth name.

Robert William Arthur "Robin" Cook (who would achieve his lasting literary reputation more than two decades later under the pseudonym Derek Raymond) was born into considerable privilege, the son of a wealthy textile magnate, and educated at Eton, which he abandoned at seventeen.

The Crust on Its Uppers, published in 1962 was his literary debut, drew directly on his own life experiences: a semi-autobiographical, slang-saturated account of class betrayal and criminal intrigue among a cast of London toffs turned crooked, narrated in a dense Cockney and underworld argot so thick that this edition includes a glossary to help readers navigate it.

Cook published three further novels as "Robin Cook" through the 1960s before abandoning fiction for some years; his return to writing in 1984, now as Derek Raymond, produced the sequence of Factory novels that established him as one of the defining figures of modern British crime fiction. The Crust on Its Uppers remains his true literary debut, and copies of the scarce 1962 first edition are consequently sought after by collectors of British crime fiction specifically interested in Raymond's earliest work.

Very good in good dust jacket. Dust jacket worn and creased along edges, strongest at spine ends and fold-in creases. Binding tight. Contents generally very good. Some mild foxing along edges and to endpapers. Otherwise, clean and bright throughout. Previous owner's inscription inked to front pastedown.

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Catalogue Number: HH000234