Bibliophilia ― A Novel of One Man's Obsession With Book Collecting

"Let the buyer beware." Flush with $400,000 dollars from selling his great great grandfather's correspondence with Victorian authors, Larry Dickerson, retired bank clerk, amateur editor, and literary neophyte, needs a creative outlet for his newly acquired funds and quickly escalating love of all things bookish. His journey begins with collecting rare editions of Victorian novelists and spirals rapidly into the extensive abyss of New Yorker authors, his obsession 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. Larry approaches the biggest names in rare book collecting with a childish glee, and with refreshing brashness, finds himself in the New Yorker offices, handling copies of some of the rarest books ever printed, and even in the midst of the biggest scandal book collecting has ever seen.Will the thrill of the chase overwhelm Larry's ability to see reason? 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. Since 1967 he has lived in Greenwich Village, New York.