Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

BERENDT, John.

Item Number: 142969

New York: Random House, 1994.

Later printing of this classic work which remains one of the longest-standing New York Times Best-Sellers. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author, “For Erica- All the best from Chablis, Emma, Minerva, Luther, Jim, Joe, Sonny, U.G.A. and me! John Berendt New York City May 23, 2007.” The recipient, Erica Jong remains best known for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying which became famously controversial for its portrayal of female sexuality and figured prominently in the development of second-wave feminism. Written in the first person and narrated by its protagonist, 29-year-old American poet Isadora Wing, Fear of Flying was written in the throes of the Sexual Revolution of the 1970s and encapsulated the movement’s redefinition of female sexuality. In interviews, Jong stated: “At the time I wrote Fear of Flying, there was not a book that said women are romantic, women are intellectual, women are sexual—and brought all those things together… What [Isadora is] looking for is how to be a whole human being, a body and a mind, and that is what women were newly aware they needed in 1973.” The novel remains a feminist classic and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Carson.

Berendt's first book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil follows the story of an antiques dealer on trial for the murder of a male prostitute. Subtitled A Savannah Story, the book became a New York Times Best-Seller for 216 weeks following its debut and remains one of the longest-standing New York Times Best-Sellers. The book was adapted for Clint Eastwood's 1997 film, with several characters' names changed to protect their privacy.