The Office of Innocence.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. [Complete number line 1 - 10 ascending.] FINE/FINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean[wrap-around matt,colour photographic illustrated dw/dj with capitalised,white-lettered author name and othe white-lettered title; spine/backstrip with same capitalised+coloured author name as front's but black-lettered title and publisher's capitalised,black-lettered+illustrated colphon+name to foot of same, rear panel of dw/dj with crtics' reviews.Negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present.Top edges though toned are clean,slightly brighter and slso clean neither with 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,clean/ unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettering to spine/backstrip,and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,2-336pp [paginated] includes 26 chapters; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,a dedication,author's Acknowledgements page,and to the rear,8pp blanks. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional and particularly internally,is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation,for a book of its 20+ year-old age. It is only the minor faults described that prevents a slightly higher overall grading.Despite that, it really is still an exceptional, exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of detracting faults. On the outskirts of Sydney, Father Frank Darragh is embarking on his new life of priesthood just as war erupts in the Pacific theater. American GIs pour into Father Darragh?s neighborhood, and with them comes a reminder of the atrocities abounding nearby. Determined to shun hypocrisy, the earnest priest finds himself constantly at odds with his superiors,who frown on his efforts to rescue an errant black soldier and pay deathbed visits to the wayward. But Frank Darragh persists,becoming his parish's most popular confessor,particularly among wives of Australian servicemen who confront an array of temptations while their husbands are away. One such parishioner, Kate Heggarty,turns the tables of temptation on young Darragh,challenging his spiritual beliefs and stirring a vulnerable place in his heart. When Kate is found murdered,his anguish is only compounded by accusations that he caused her death. Poignantly depicting the conflicts between the secular and the holy, and between the family of Darragh's birth and the brotherhood of priests,'OFFICE OF INNOCENCE' is a tale set in the most compelling of circumstances. Drawing on his own experience studying for the priesthood in his youth,Thomas Keneally has created an endearing protagonist who speaks to the conundrums of our age while paying tribute to quiet heroes of the past. 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. **