William Faulkner

A signed, first edition of the first collection of Faulkner short stories, including classics like "A Rose for Emily," "Victory" and "That Evening Sun."

• William Faulkner (American).
• New York: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith, 1931.
• 358 pages.
• First issue, with error on contents page ("280" for "208").
• One of 299 copies signed by Faulkner; this is number 86. 
• Bound in the original publisher's quarter brown over beige cloth, top edge gilt silver, fore-edge machine deckle, grey endpapers.

This collection of short stories was published in the same year as Sanctuary, the controversial novel that truly brought William Faulkner to the literary world's attention; he is billed on the dust jacket as "Author of Sanctuary." Known for his visceral depictions of the decline of the South after the Civil War, many of the stories in this volume are tied to Faulkner's novels in theme, geographical location and characters. This connection is explicit in "That Evening Sun," which features the children of the Compson family, describing events that took place before their tragic downfall in The Sound and the Fury.