AND BE A VILLAIN. A Nero Wolfe Novel.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original grey cloth with titles in red and green to the upper board and spine, in the Bill English designed dustwrapper. Top edge red. With an original typed letter signed by Rex Stout on a single leaf of the author's personal stationery, complete with the original paper envelope, loosely laid in. An excellent very near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh, with light rubbing to the spine tips and extremities. The contents are clean throughout, and without previous owners' inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and creased dustwrapper, which has a couple of tiny chips to the head of the lightly toned flap folds. Not price-clipped ($2.50 to the upper front flap).

Inscribed by the author in blue ink on the half title "For Sarah S. Silbiger - / with best wishes - / Rex Stout / December 12 - 1972". The typed letter, dated "November 20 1972" and signed by Stout in blue ink, simply reads "Dear Mrs. Silbiger / Yes. / Sincerely, / Rex Stout". Complete with the original envelope opened to the top edge. Rex Stout was a prolific letter-writer, whose personal correspondence spanned thousands of letters addressed to friends, editors, and several famous political figures. He accrued mountains of fan mail over the years and dutifully responded to "all but perhaps the unanswerable" (The Wolfe Pack). A considerable archive of correspondence, files, records, manuscripts, certificates, artwork, radio and television recordings, first editions and ephemera, including the research files of his official biographer John J. McAleer and bibliographer Judson C. Sapp are housed at the John J. Burns Library, Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. The first of three Nero Wolfe novels to feature crime boss Arnold Zeck. (Hubin).