HERE COMES A CANDLE by Fredric Brown, intro by Bill Pronzini. Lakewood, CO; Millipede Press; 2006. 1st hardcover edition thus. Originally published in 1950, Here Comes a Candle is Fredric Brown at his most unconventional and audacious &emdash; novel that, in many respects, was far ahead of its time. It is the story of Joe Bailey whose young life is at a crossroads. Not only is he involved with a tough Milwaukee racketeer and two completely different women, but he is haunted by nightmares and childhood traumas that stem from two lines in a nursery rhyme: "Here comes a candle to light you to bed / And here comes a chopper to chop off your head." Psychologically complex, unconventionally told in an array of stylistic variations, it is a tour de force with a savagely ironic ending not to be soon forgotten and offers a grim look at the underside of a sanitized post-World War II America. The new Millipede Press edition of this classic includes the following extras: New introductory essay by Bill Pronzini, award-winning writer. An extra short story by Fredric Brown, "The Joke". A long unavailable short essay by Brown, "It's Only Everything". New design with entirely reset text, with a sewn binding. Cover image: Nosferatu, 1922. Fine in fine dj. |