"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
— P.J. O'Rourke
Eric Ambler | First Editions
1909 - 1998
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an influential British author, who contributed immensely to the thriller genre - particularly in terms of spy novels. Ambler also worked as a screenwriter, and co-wrote several books with Charles Rodda under the pseudonym 'Eliot Reed'.Born into a family of puppeteers, Ambler spent his early life in the entertainment industry helping his parents, before moving on to study engineering at Northampton Polytechnic in Islington - now known as City University, London. However, his upbringing as an entertainer proved dominant, and he soon began writing plays and other works. Ambler was staunchly anti-Fascist, and his political leanings can be highlighted in his early literature, with the sympathetic portrayal of Soviet agents. War and politics would continue to impact Ambler's fiction throughout his lifetime.
See below our stock of Eric Ambler Signed and First Editions.
Results 1 - 11 (of 11)
The Ability to Kill.....And Other Pieces.
London: The Bodley Head Ltd. 1962. FIRST EDITION, octavo, pp.222. Publisher's light red cloth in a rather chilling pictorial dust jacket, illustrated by Don Higgins. Minor handling; a near fine copy. Not exactly bed-time reading! -Ambler's examination of what kind of mentality is required to become a killer. The present..... More
The Ability to Kill.....And Other Pieces.
London: The Bodley Head Ltd., 1963. [Murder/true crime] FIRST EDITION, corrected state. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.222. Publisher's light red cloth in a rather chilling pictorial dust jacket, illustrated by Don Higgins. Usual laminate shrinkage at joint else a fine copy. Not exactly bed-time reading! Ambler's examination of what kind..... More
The Ability to Kill.....And Other Pieces.
London: The Bodley Head Ltd., 1963. [Murder/true crime] FIRST EDITION, corrected state. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.222. Publisher's light red cloth in a rather chilling pictorial dust-jacket, illustrated by Don Higgins. Illustrated bookplate to flyleaf. Usual laminate shrinkage at joint, some soiling, spine and extremities toned. Very good... More
Background to Danger.
New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1937. [Intrigue] FIRST U.S. EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.280; [1], blank; [1], advertisements; [2], blank. Publisher's orange cloth lettered in burgundy, pictorial jacket priced at $2.00. Edges of text block toned, ink ownership to flyleaf, jacket with a few chips and tears, clipped..... More
The Care of Time.
New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1981. [Spy Thriller] INSCRIBED FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[10] 277 [1]. INSCRIBED by the author in blue ink to title page: 'With best wishes from | an ever-grateful patient | Eric Ambler | London 14 May 82'. Publisher's purple quarter cloth..... More
Epitaph For A Spy.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1938. [Haycraft-Queen cornerstone novel]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.287; [1], advertisement. Bound by the W.H. Smith and Son bindery in green cloth, titled in gilt to the spine. Some spotting and toning to page edges, cloth a little rubbed and darkened to extremities. Very..... More
The Mask Of Dimitrios.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1939. FIRST EDITION. A Haycraft-Queen cornerstone novel. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.320. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine. Internally very clean with no ownership marks, bookplates or inscriptions. Covers are fresh but for a little sunning to spine, a few small marks and the..... More
Passage of Arms.
London: Heinemann, 1959. [Gun-running thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.250. Publisher's hardback cloth binding in pictorial dust-jacket priced at 16s. Lightly toned and spotted to edges. Jacket a touch toned to spine, lightly rubbed to edges. Near fine. A modern day pirate adventure, set in the South-Seas. This..... More
Uncommon Danger.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1937. [Intrigue] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.314; [6], advertisements. Publisher's pale blue cloth lettered in black, mid-blue endpapers, pictorial jacket by Gibbs, priced 7/6. Trivial toning to edge of text block, jacket with very light rubbing/wear to extremities. Overall a lovely fine copy of..... More
To Catch A Spy. An Anthology of Favourite Spy Stories Edited and Introduced by Eric Ambler.
London: The Bodley Head, 1964. [Anthology] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.224. Publisher's brown cloth, gilt titles to spine, dust-jacket designed by Michael Harvey. Internally fine, some spotting to edges. Cloth lightly handled. Price clipped wrapper a little rubbed and worn with some marking to edges and a few..... More
To Catch A Spy. An Anthology of Favourite Spy Stories Edited and Introduced by Eric Ambler.
London: The Bodley Head, 1964. [Anthology] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.224. Publisher's brown cloth, gilt titles to spine, dust-jacket designed by Michael Harvey, priced at 16s. Mild spotting to edges, contents fine. Cloth lightly handled, jacket a little rubbed and worn with a few small nicks, usual laminate..... More
Results 1 - 11 (of 11)