The Magic Christian.

SOUTHERN, Terry.

$2,000.00

Item Number: 120936

New York: Random House, 1960.

First edition of one of the funniest, cruelest, and most savagely revealing books about American life ever written, hailed as Southern’s masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Grand Guy Andre to whom I owe all. Terry Southern New York City 2-2-60.” The recipient was publisher André Deutsch, who was Southern’s first publisher, and who published the first edition of The Magic Christian. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket illustration by William Pene du Bois. An exceptional association.

The Magic Christian is a 1959 comic novel by American author Terry Southern about an odd billionaire Guy Grand who spends most of his time playing elaborate practical jokes on people. It is known for bringing Southern to the attention of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, who had received a copy as a gift from Peter Sellers, and subsequently hired him as co-writer for Dr. Strangelove (1964) when Kubrick decided to make that film a black comedy/satire, rather than a straightforward thriller. It was the basis for the 1969 British satirical black comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, with appearances by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Raquel Welch, Spike Milligan, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough and Roman Polanski. It was loosely adapted from the 1959 comic novel The Magic Christian by the American author Terry Southern, who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with McGrath. The film also features pre-Monty Python appearances of John Cleese (credited) and an uncredited Graham Chapman, who had jointly written an earlier version of the film script. Songs by Badfinger, including one written by Paul McCartney, were used on the soundtrack.