Child of God, first edition, inscribed to Anne DeLisle
Random House, New York, 1974
First edition, first and only printing, with “First Edition” on the copyright page. Hardcover, 21.5 x 14.6 cm, 197 numbered pages. Publisher’s red paper-covered and black cloth boards, lettered in gold on the spine and with the initials “CMcC” embossed on the front panel. Black dust jacket by Muriel Nasser, lettered in red, yellow, and olive green, with a price of “$5.95” on the front flap and code “1/73” on the back flap. The back panel features a photo of a young McCarthy by David Styles (APG 003b). Housed in a gorgeous black quarter leather box.
Inscribed by McCarthy in blue ballpoint pen to his wife Anne DeLisle on the title page: “To my lovely Annie / With admiration and love / and thanks for your help. You deserved / so much better than / I ever gave you & / you will always be the love of my life. / Cormac”. Additionally inscribed in pencil by DeLisle on the front pastedown, referring to the damage to the book and dust jacket: “These are the teeth marks of Blackie, our beloved plott hound [sic]. Cormac left him as well as me. Annie”.
A note by DeLisle, in black ballpoint pen on a white card, dated 2023, is laid in. It reads in full: “My Darling Man. You carried me alongside you during the most difficult times of your creative life. You gave me more love than any other woman has known. So much so that I could never leave you. I have and I will love you forever. My precious love. Annie”.
CONDITION: poor book in a poor dust jacket.
PROVENANCE: from the collection of Anne DeLisle, auctioned at Bonhams on April 10, 2024.
This is by far the book in worst condition in the collection, but, in my opinion, it is also by far the most fascinating.
Child of God was published on January 2, 1974. Anne DeLisle told me that McCarthy inscribed the book for her in February, at the time he decided to leave her in Louisville and move to the Southwest. The couple reunited in August in Tucson and traveled from El Paso to Chihuahua, Babícora, Casas Grandes, Guerrero, and Janos, across the Sierra Madre, and by boat to the Baja Peninsula. However, the relationship was broken, and in October Anne returned to Tennessee. DeLisle and McCarthy divorced in 1978.
Later, as noted by Annie in her inscription, the book ended up in the teeth of Blackie, the couple’s plott hound. It seems, in some way, appropriate, and the damage is clearly visible. The upper part of the spine and front panel were lacerated and later held together with two large pieces of tape. The tape was removed by an expert paper conservator, Elena Allodi, who stabilized the lacerated cloth without further restoration. The front gutter is weak, and the first free endpaper is torn away. The dust jacket front flap has a large chip at the bottom, affecting some of the text.
The note laid in the book refers, fifty years later, to McCarthy’s inscription (“You deserved so much better than I ever gave you” / “You gave me more love than any other woman has known”). It also includes a more ambivalent note: “You gave me more love than any other woman has known. So much so that I could never leave you.” Annie told me that the note was written in spring 2023, during a very difficult moment in her life, when she learned that McCarthy was once again suffering from cancer and that, despite her strong desire to see him one last time, it would not be possible. It is a moving testament to a great, lifelong love.
COLLECTING TOPICS: signed or inscribed copies of Child of God are scarce. However, association copies are truly rare and this is the best I have ever seen.
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One Response
This copy is and will always be stunning to me. Maybe the best inscription on any book ever inscribed by McCarthy, regardless of title.