GARNER, Alan ~ The Moon of Gomrath. With a H/W letter from the Author to his God-Daughter

First UK Printing : Collins, London : 1963

8vo., orange cloth ruled and lettered in silver to backstrip; map endpapers showing ‘The Hunters’ Land’, ‘Errwood Hall’ and ‘The Edge’; in the vibrant pictorial wrapper designed by George Adamson (unclipped, 12s. 6d. net); The BOOK a Very Good++ copy, lightly bruised at spine tips, with faint spotting and offsetting to the end-papers; extending a little onto the title; Faint spotting to the fore-edge; the Very Good WRAPPER creased along folds and edges; some shelf darkening to the lower panel; lightly rubbed, nicked and chipped at spine ends, some closed tears, one 3” long extending into the upper panel. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First edition, first impression. This copy together with a handwritten letter from the author to Brenda, his goddaughter and cousin: “Dear Brenda, Here’s a self-explanatory bit of nostalgia to remind you, when you are far from your native hearth, that we are not really anti-sociable: just busy. Let us know you’re coming next time - but do come. Alan”. The letter is dated 4th September 1967, four years after this title was published. Garner had begun writing his first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley, in September 1956. Set in the village of Alderley Edge, where the author was living at the time, the plot follows two children, Susan and Colin who, while exploring the area, encounter a race of strange and malevolent creatures called svart alfar. Rescued by the wizard Cadellin, they learn that the forces of darkness are on the hunt for a magic talisman, the "weirdstone of Brisingamen". The book was published by Collins, who was on the hunt for new fantasy works following the success of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (1954-55). The Moon of Gomrath is the sequel, and once again picks up the story with the two children as its central protagonists. In this plot, Susan is possessed by the ancient evil of the Brollachan, the pair accidentally release the Wild Hunt (a band of ancient horsemen), and Colin is captured, leading to Susan having to recruit the help of the elves and dwarfs to rescue him. This first edition benefits from an author’s note, in which he explains that the places, names, and even spells (taken from manuscripts in the British Museum and the Bodleian)are all real, with most taken from traditional folk-lore. “The more I learn”, he writes, “the more I am convinced that there are no original stories…originality now means the personal colouring of existing themes, and some of the richest ever expressed are in the folk-lore of Britain”. The Moon of Gomrath was a great commercial success, but came with a great clamouring for the author to complete the story with a third work, forming a trilogy. Garner famously rejected the idea for many years, but the long-awaited final part, Boneland, was finally published in August 2012.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good++
JACKET: Very Good