No Ruined Castles; A Novel
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1957. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. 287, [1] pages. Scarce signed copy. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads To Al and Rosie--Good friend in Frankfurt A/M.--Good Friends at Fasching 1953--with the hope that we will continue the friendship in the U. S. Jim Feb 8, 1958. Previous owner's mailing label inside front cover. DJ has wear, tears, soiling and chips. The author served with the State Department in Germany for three years. This is his second novel. The first, Fraulein, became a movie and was also released in a paperback version. The author became a public relations executive with a major U.S. corporation after leaving the State Department. Derived from a Kirkus review: A further report on the American occupation of post- war Germany, this is the quietly discouraging account of a first assignment as liaison representative an undertaken by Ed Downey of the Foreign Service. Inexperienced but well intentioned, Downey is stationed in Crellenbach- a rather dull little town- under the influence of its Catholic priest, its Burgomaster, and a potentially dangerous group of refugees from East Germany led by Ringelnatz, an ex-Nazi. But it is on the official State Department acts- and attitudes- that Downey really stubs his toes; his importation of an art exhibit is criticized; his refusal to sanction an anthropologist's silly project, and the building of an Army base, considered obstructive; and his love for, and intention to marry, a German widow completes the coup de grace on his career. It is only as he leaves, after a parting demonstration on the part of the villagers, that he realizes he has earned their respect... The fictional frame does not conceal the criticisms- and the sympathies- for the marginal status of the American abroad- whose visiting privileges have failed to establish anything of a more permanent nature. Condition: Good / Fair.
Keywords: Crellenbach, Military Occupation, Refugees, Burgomaster, East Germany, Ringelnatz, State Department, Liaison Representative, Ed Downey, Foreign Service, Widow, Gunsdorf
[Book #82844]
Price: $475.00