Jaws

First UK edition. 8vo. 272pp. Claret-red cloth, lettered in gilt to spine; pink endpapers. Jacket design by Tom Simmonds (priced £1.95 to flap).

Previous ownership signature to f.f.e.p., else Fine. Noticeably scarcer than its US counterpart, a copy in a complete dustwrapper.

Author's first novel and second book. Inspired by such real-life incidents as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916 and based on meticulously researched data about shark behaviour, Benchley's classic suspense thriller of shark versus man, has sold over 20 million copies since publication. Co-adapted by the author who also makes a cameo appearance as a reporter into the 1975, Oscar-winning, blockbuster film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss. "A tightly written, tautly paced study of terror [that] makes us tingle." –Washington Post