Clavell, James (1975) ‘Shogun’, US signed first edition

James Clavell (1975) ‘Shogun‘, US first edition, first printing, published by Atheneum. Signed by author James Clavell on the half-title page: “James C. July 75 – Portland”. In addition the author has put a Japanese kanji at the top right corner.

Condition: a very good copy in like dust kjacket. No previous owner’s inscriptions inside, no stamps, no bookplates. The book is probably unread and feels as such. Clean pages inside, no foxing. The boards with minimal shelf wear. Front board has a light stain at the bottom, and the katana (Japanese sword) from the dust jacket has left a little ghosting mark on the front board. Rear board clean. Very nice cloth spine. The page block edges show a little finger soiling, but nothing major. The author has caught the front page block with the marker with which Clavell signed the book and just finished ‘Portland’ (see our images)  The dust jacket is not price clipped displaying the correct first edition USD 12.50 price. Typical ageing toning to the jacket’s edges.

A very scarce signed first edition of Clavell’s best novel published in 1975. Clavell wrote many historical novels of which all became bestsellers. ‘Shogun’ is the chronologically first novel in the Asian Saga. He skillfully blends historical fact with fiction and creates a suspensful pageturner with all indgredients the reader could wish for: action, a love story, suspense, and historical facts. He also brings the Japanese culture closer to the Western mind – a masterful achievement. In 1980 Shogun was made into a five-part television mini-series that starred Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune and was seen by over 120 million viewers, the largest audience for a mini-series since Roots according to New York Times.