{"product_id":"the-drought-john-creasey-1st-edition","title":"The Drought, John Creasey — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublication\u003c\/strong\u003e: London, Hodder \u0026amp; Stoughton, 1959\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"3\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormatting\u003c\/strong\u003e: 8vo, pp. 191.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/strong\u003e: Very Good. The original red cloth boards remain surprisingly bright and sharp, with unoxidised gilt lettering to the spine and no notable bumping to the corners. The binding is firm and tight, holding the text block squarely. Internally, the pages are crisp and generally clean, displaying only minor age-toning typical of the paper stock. As is common with Boots Booklovers Library copies, there is a shield stamp affixed to the front pastedown, alongside a faint corresponding stamp to the front flap. The original, unclipped dust jacket exhibits some mild edge-wear, a few short closed tears, and light rubbing to the extremities, along with the characteristic library punch-hole to the front flap, yet it remains vibrant and highly presentable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/strong\u003e: A true first edition of John Creasey's twenty-first Dr. Palfrey thriller. This copy bears the unmistakable provenance of the Boots Booklovers Library, complete with the Manchester branch shield stamp and the tell-tale punch-hole on the unclipped dust jacket flap, a fascinating piece of mid-century circulating library history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eWhile Creasey's works were printed in significant numbers, surviving UK first editions in their original dust jackets have become increasingly uncommon on the open market, particularly those that retain such vivid cover art without heavy sunning to the spine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003eAs the world bakes under an unprecedented, unrelenting heatwave, the rivers run dry, the crops fail, and humanity teeters on the brink of chaotic desperation. When it becomes clear that this catastrophic drought is no natural phenomenon but a deliberately engineered weapon of global extortion, Dr. Palfrey and his secretive Z5 organisation are called into action. Racing against time and a soaring death toll, Palfrey must unearth the masterminds behind the vaporisation of the world's water supply before the entire planet is scorched into a barren wasteland.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54362699104595,"sku":"4672","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20260717_182050.jpg?v=1784617991","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/the-drought-john-creasey-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}