THE EMPIRE. [Author SIGNED copy.]

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,author SIGNED,1st edn. FINE+/FINE+. No owner inscrptn but author's handwritten, bold,black felt-tip pen ink inscrptn thus 'Love Michael (?) x' to a tipped-in (?) special title page between the half-title and title page,and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,wrap-around matt background of colour pictorial illustration,with part-glossy,embossed, overlaid colour figures to front of dw/dj by Michael Crampton,with author's capitalised,embossed,bright, crisp,gilt-lettered name,capitalised,glossy,embossed white-lettered title,other white-lettered strapline and critic's white+sand coloured,lettered review; spine/backstrip with similarly coloured+lettered author+title as the front's and publisher's capitalised,white-lettered name initial Z to foot of same,rear panel with continuation of front's illustration and critics' (3) white+sand colour lettered reviews.Negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges bright crisp and clean without blemish or foxing/spotting; contents bright, tight,clean, solid and sound – no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips – appears unread, apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp and clean/unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt capitalised lettering and ticket illustration to spine/backstrip,and immaculate two colour,repetitive design illustrated endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,2-390pp [paginated] includes Overtures and Beginners,Acts I-III,Finale and Curtain Call comprising 11,13,10, 4 and [6 Months Later],Acknowledgements; plus [unpaginated] half-title page,author SIGNED title page,title page,3pp Characters list/table,a dedication, and to therear,Reader's Letters with author's facsimile signature,b/w illustrated advertisement for book as an Audiobook read by BALL or a download,an advert for forthcoming book in 2023,separator page for More from the Author, Exclusive to this edition, 5pp article From Stage to Page and facsimile signature again,and as last pages,4pp blanks. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional and particularly internally,is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation. It really is still an exceptional,exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of detracting faults and particularly as a SIGNED item and author fiction debut of a promised forthcoming series/saga. The first in a series set in the world of theatre by the master of musical theatre. Welcome to The Empire Theatre. 'It's the jewel of the north,The Empire. Lord Lassiter bought it for his second wife, Lady Lillian and she supervised every detail of the restoration.There's not a finer theatre in the country'. But The Empire is not just a theatre. From music hall to vaudeville,from revue to grand musical spectacular, it holds a special place in the nation's heart.For its audience,for its actors and singers,for the stagehands, the front-of-house staff,for its backers and its debtors - and above all for its owners - it truly is a palace of dreams.And for young Jack Treadwell,struggling to adapt to civilian life after the horrors of the trenches, it's a lifeline. Looking for work,he arrives at The Empire,it's owned by the family of his former commanding officer, Edmund Lassiter so he hopes to be given a chance. But as Jack soon discovers,it is not just the actors who are donning a disguise.With whispers of a cover-up,a scandal and sibling rivalry,tensions rise, along with the curtain.For there is treachery at the heart of The Empire and a dark secret waiting in the wings. Can Jack discover the truth before it is too late, and the theatre that means so much to them all goes dark?Following the lives,loves and scandals of the Lassiter and Treadwell families,from the aftermath of the Great War and the Roaring Twenties to the dark days of the Second World War and the Blitz,Michael Ball's debut fiction series charts the story of the high notes and the low notes of British musical theatre in all its glamour,greasepaint and glory. Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **