Iain Banks — The Wasp Factory

London, Macmillan, 1984 . First edition. Cloth. A signed presentation copy of the first edition of Iain Banks's debut novel, a fascinating and disturbing tale about a teenager living with his unusual father on a remote Scottish island. Inscribed 'To John with best wishes Iain Banks' to the title page. The first edition, first impression, in the publisher's original unclipped dust wrapper. Banks's dark and controversial debut novel, narrated by sixteen-year-old Frank Cauldhame, who lives in isolation on a remote Scottish island and recounts a series of violent childhood acts alongside the rituals of his macabre self-made belief system.  The woek was greeted with a mixture of acclaim and criticism due to its gruesome depiction of violence. The Irish Times called it "a work of unparalleled depravity". In the publisher's original cloth binding, with unclipped dust wrapper. Externally, excellent, with light shelf wear to back strip tail and bump to back strip head. Dust wrapper in exceptional condition. Internally, firmly bound. Inscribed to title page. Pages clean and bright. Near Fine . Ill.: None. Near Fine/Fine.