Here Comes a Candle

Introduction by Bill Pronzini
Cover image: Nosferatu, 1922

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.

Limited to 300 signed (by Bill Pronzoni) and numbered copies bound in cloth and I was informed that I got the last copy that the publisher had of the signed hardcover state.  The dustjacket is in fine condition; however, there is an indentation on the boards of the book, both front and back in approximately the same place, that is 3/4's of in inch long and only as wide as a staple, which leads me to believe it was put there at the bindery by some kind of machine.  I just want people to know that his "defect" is there as this is the last copy of this title that we will have and as such, we won't be able to replace it.