The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication.

STEINBECK, John.

$6,000.00

Item Number: 145514

New York: The Viking Press, 1957.

First edition of Steinbeck’s only political satire. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to his sister on the front free endpaper, “Mary avec l’aimite from John the XXII.” The recipient, Mary Steinbeck Dekker was the eldest sister of John Steinbeck. The warmth of this inscription reflects their close and enduring relationship throughout his life. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by William Pene Du Bois. From the library of Mary Steinbeck Dekker. An exceptional association.

Pippin IV explores the life of Pippin Héristal, an amateur astronomer in 1950s France, who is suddenly proclaimed the King of France. Unknowingly appointed to give the Communists a monarchy to revolt against, Pippin is chosen because he was descended from the famous king Charlemagne. Unhappy with his lack of privacy, alteration of family life, uncomfortable housings at the Palace of Versailles and his lack of power as a constitutional monarch, the protagonist spends a portion of the novel dressing up as a commoner, often riding a motorscooter, to avoid the constrained life of a king. Pippin eventually receives his wish of dethronement after the people of France enact the rebellion Pippin's kingship was destined to receive. He returns to his home in Paris to find that nothing has really changed.