debut novel signed by the author

This is a very good copy of the first edition of Leslie Thomas' debut novel, The Virgin Soldiers. The novel tells the raunchy and darkly hilarious story of conscripted soldiers during the so-called Malayan Emergency, based on Thomas' own experience serving in Singapore. It sold over two million copies in Thomas' lifetime and was adapted into a 1969 film and 1977 sequel.

First edition, signed by the author on title page; 12mo (20.5 x 13.5 cm); ownership inscription in pen on front endpaper, bookseller's label to paste-down endpaper; publisher's black cloth lettered in silver (bumped corners and spine), original uncut pictorial dustjacket lettered in white and yellow with blue accents on back and flaps; 256pp.