{"product_id":"our-kid-billy-hopkins-1st-edition","title":"Our Kid, Billy Hopkins — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublication:\u003c\/b\u003e London, Headline Book Publishing, 1998\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormatting:\u003c\/b\u003e 8vo, pp. [viii], 384.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Report:\u003c\/b\u003e Near Fine. This copy is presented in an unclipped dust jacket, which remains exceptionally bright and clean, showing virtually no edge wear, fading, or creasing. The original blue hardback boards are robust and sharp, with unbumped corners and a remarkably tight, square spine adorned with pristine gilt lettering. Internally, the binding is flawlessly tight, opening cleanly without any separation or weakness at the hinges. The text block is crisp, bright, and entirely free of foxing, thumbing, or toning, indicating it has been carefully stored and likely unread. There is a neat, personalised authorial inscription on the front free endpaper; otherwise, the pages are uniformly immaculate throughout, making this a superb, collector-grade example.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCatalogue Note:\u003c\/b\u003e This is a true First Edition, First Impression, with the full number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' present on the copyright page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe volume features a notable authorial inscription on the front free endpaper: \u003ci\u003e\"To Tony and Marion \/ With my very best wishes \/ 'He who laughs, lasts...' \/ Billy (Wilf) Hopkins \/ June 2000.\"\u003c\/i\u003e Because the author, born Wilfred Hopkins, penned his work under the pseudonym Billy Hopkins, the dual signature of \"Billy (Wilf)\" provides a charming and authentic piece of provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrue first printing hardbacks are uncommonly found in such pristine, well-preserved condition. Signed copies are particularly scarce, making this an excellent acquisition for collectors of modern Northern British literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing heavily upon the author's own upbringing, \u003ci\u003eOur Kid\u003c\/i\u003e is a vivid, humorous, and deeply nostalgic novelization of a Catholic childhood in the slums of Manchester during the 1930s. Born into a sprawling, impoverished family in Collyhurst, young Billy endures the harsh realities of the Depression, the strict discipline of the local nuns, and the disruption of being evacuated to Blackpool at the onset of the Second World War. Despite a diet of bread and dripping and a landlady who saves the best rations for her own children, Billy's indomitable Northern spirit and mischievous sense of humour carry him through. Hopkins weaves an authentic and heart-warming tapestry of working-class life, capturing both the struggles and the profound communal bonds of a vanished era.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54618542014803,"sku":"5141","price":42.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260811_132434.jpg?v=1787044011","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/our-kid-billy-hopkins-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}