The first editions of novels by best-selling Scottish author Ian Rankin are to be sold at auction , auctioneers Bonhams said on Friday.
The complete collection of his 14 crime novels featuring Inspector Rebus will be offered, including “Hide And Seek”, “The Black Book”, “Mortal Causes”, “Let It Bleed” and “Black And Blue”.
These books are expected to fetch between 150 and 300 pounds each, while a first edition of “Knots and Crosses”, the 1987 debut of the Rebus character, could fetch 400 to 500 pounds.
Rankin, whose books have been translated into 22 languages, said he might even become a bidder himself because he gave away all his spare copies to friends and family members in his early days as a writer.
“It’s a strange feeling to see one’s books come up at auction and also, to some extent, a sign of my miserable early failings as an author,” Rankin said in a statement.
Only a few hundred copies were printed of his first novel, “The Flood.” Even by the time “Black And Blue” was published, the first print run was in the very low four-figures, Rankin said.
“That’s because I wasn’t selling very well and my publishers at the time were not going to risk printing copies they couldn’t sell. As a result, the first 10 years of my output as a novelist has now become highly collectable.”
Rankin is one of Scotland’s most successful novelists and has been described by critics as a “modern day Charles Dickens”.
The books will be auctioned at the Edinburgh branch of Bonhams on August 25.

Posted: 08|18|05 at 10:19 am. Filed under: UK News.