Tolkien’s Gown and Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books, Constable, London, 2004.
(Published in the USA as): Nabokov’s Butterfly and Other Stories of Great Authors and Rare Books, Carroll and Graf, NY, 2004.
 The new book by Rick Gekoski is available from October. Rare book dealer, academic, publisher, critic, bibliographer, and broadcaster, he has been described as the Bill Bryson of the book world. For anyone who loves books, Tolkien’s Gown offers a wealth of amusement and instruction, and enough literary anecdotes to last a lifetime.
Rick Gekoski wrote and narrated the successful BBC Radio 4 series Rare Books Rare People, which tells the stories of some of the greatest works of modern literature, including Ulysses, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, The Hobbit, and Lolita. He shared fascinating stories about his contact with authors such as Graham Greene, J. D. Salinger, Salman Rushdie, Ted Hughes, and Julian Barnes.
Based on the radio series, this hugely entertaining volume contains
the biographies of twenty great, modern books - an enchanting
mix of quirky characters, heady prices and the unique story of
each book. A must-buy for all book collectors and a perfect gift
for Christmas.
The book is available online from Amazon.
Extracts from some reviews of Tolkien’s Gown
“A veritable feast of the tales behind some of the most iconic titles to have graced British publishing, and fascinating anecdotes about the authors who wrote them…a gem of a book, tales about Tolkien, Potter, Orwell, Larkin, Hemingway and more, representing a treasure trove of trivia for book fans. Really, every library should have one!” (Publishing News)
“Gekoski likes to be around a better class of book than the rest of us and by skill, luck and chutzpah has managed to.” (The Guardian)
“Page after page of delight.” (The Sunday Times)
“Hugely entertaining account of the great books and their worth as literature – and as first editions – by the fabulously infectious American bibliophile. Think Bill Bryson, only on books.” (Tatler)
"He is (also) a very good storyteller....a winning combination of glee and disbelief. The book is full of cherishable stories." (Sunday Telegraph)
“Superbly produced. Gekoski’s judgments are always interesting and his reminiscences of authors and collectors…are priceless. Above all the book provides an engaging piecemeal portrait of its author, a dealer who has not been afraid to bid high for important items, and who is big enough to admit in these pages to some of his mistakes. Few books bridge the chasms between biography, bibliography and the market place: this one does.” (Rare Book Review)
“Book aficionados will be titillated by Gekoski’s wealth of inside knowledge and tasty gossip morsels.” (Financial Times)
“Without exception, his anecdotes and analyses are riveting and entertaining. I couldn't put it down. Gekoski's little histories of the great modern firsts are replete with insight and hilarious reminiscence. One can see that Gekoski had no future as an English lecturer. He can write and talk.” (The Australian)
“With a raconteur's flair, Gekoski traces the path between the composition of a literary work and the creation of a valuable object. Central to these highly polished, entertaining and often amusing stories is Gekoski himself. The book dealer finds himself written into a William Golding novel, is given Tolkien's academic gown, acquires Sylvia Plath's The Colossus and Other Poems inscribed to Ted Hughes and ends up on the receiving end of hostile phone calls from J.D. Salinger's lawyers. A pure pleasure.” (The Age)
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