PATHS OF DESTINY. [Author SIGNED copy.]

UK,12mo p/back,SIGNED,1st edn thus.[The true 1st p/back issue was the simultaneous issue with the UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn of the 'C' format p/back in 2003.This standard trade p/back issue in 2004.] VG+. Author's expansive handwritten,blue ink signature: 'To Elizabeth and Linda, Happy Reading E. V. Thompson' to title page.Bright,clean,glossy, colour pictorial wrap-around artwork by Colin Backhouse,illustrated wraps; with negligible shelf- wear to edges - no nicks or tears present. Minimal creasing to corners,with some inevitable but superficial scoring/ indents to card covers,and inevitable reading creases to spine/backstrip. Top+fore-edges slightly aged/toned - as usual/normal - contents bright, tight and clean.UK,12mo p/back,SIGNED,1st edn thus,1-394pp [paginated] includes 23 chapters; plus [unpaginated],story precis page, SIGNED title page,and title separator page. Want more E. V. THOMPSON titles? For similar and other available titles - SIGNED and unsigned UK HB+dw/dj,1st edns and SIGNED,UK, paperback 1st edns,please search my MODERN FIRSTS2,MODERN FIRSTS and/or SIGNED catalogues. Cornwall,1854 - Alice Rowe owes everything to the Reverend Alfred Markham,the parson of the tiny village church in Treleggan.The illegitimate daughter of a local girl and a miner,Alice was rescued from the workhouse by the Reverend,who employed her in his parsonage as a housemaid.So when he dies of a sudden heart attack,Alice faces a fearful and uncertain future.But as one chapter in Alice's life ends, another begins.For as she discovers the reverend's body in the woods near their house,she meets Gideon Davey - a 'ganger' who is laying a nearby stretch of railway line.Not only does Gideon help recover the body,but he returns to Treleggan for the funeral - and also to see Alice again.Gideon's behaviour does not go unnoticed in Treleggan - especially from those critical of Alice and her past.Though he is threatened,Gideon is man enough to stand up to the village bullies. Then,just as Alice and Gideon's friendship hints at something more serious,Gideon is given an offer he can't refuse: to travel to the Crimea, to build a railway to help the British troops.Gideon,however,is not the only person about to leave Cornwall.For the arrival of the new rector finds Alice moving on too - and starting a remarkable chain of events that follows Gideon's journey across the world . . . Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the lighter weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - 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 customers please be aware: US Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to USA 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.