BIBLIOPHILIA

Flush with $400,000 from the sale of his great-great-grandfather's correspondence with Victorian authors, Larry Dickerson, an unassuming retired bank clerk, amateur editor, and literary neophyte, needs a creative outlet for his newly acquired wealth and fast escalating obsession with all things bookish. His journey begins with collecting rare editions of Victorian novelists but soon spirals rapidly into the abyss of New Yorker authors, his determination to acquire growing with each new purchase.

James Thurber, E. B. White, Vladimir Nabokov, J. D. Salinger, and Dorothy Parker all find their way onto Larry's shortlist, standing alongside previously acquired Victorian greats Trollope, Dickens, Thackeray, and Hardy. Being sensible, he approaches the biggest names in the rare book field with childish glee, and refreshing brashness, finds himself in the New Yorker offices, handling copies of authors' most coveted titles, and then involved in the biggest scandal book collecting has ever seen. Will the thrill of the chase overwhelm Larry's ability to see reason? Will his appetite outpace his resources? Join him on this journey as he discovers just how far he's willing to take his obsession.

N. John Hall is a distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at the Bronx Community College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. The receipient of numerous awards, he has twice been a Guggenheim Fellow. His many books include Trollope:A Biography and Max Beerhohm: A Kind of Life. He is considered one of the world's leading authorities on both Trollope and Beerhohm.