IDELL, Albert E.

Pug

New York: Greystone Press, 1941. First Edition. Octavo (21.5cm); red linen, light green panel on spine with titles stamped in gilt; dustjacket; 245pp. Attractive bookplate of a former Pennsylvania coal miner (Charles Schifano) on front pastedown. Hint of a lean, top edge dusty, with some trivial offset from jacket flaps onto endpapers; Near Fine. The unclipped dustjacket shows some wear along the top edge and spine ends, with toning at the spine and flap folds; Very Good.

A terribly dark novel about a promising prize fighter who is injured after being matched out of his class by a crooked manager. Desperate to make a comeback, though neither his injuries nor his girl will allow him back in the ring, he ends up snapping - killing his girlfriend in a fit of rage. While on the run, he is tricked into taking a job as a strike breaker, and is ultimately shot dead by strikers and lawmen. Idell, a Philadelphia native, drew from his own experiences as a boxer and fight promoter for the novel's background. The author's first published novel, an exceptional but largely forgotten boxing novel with good strike content. Not in Blake.

Price: $125.00

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