Tales of Soldiers and Civilians
San Francisco: E. L. G. Steele, 1891. First Edition. Original cloth over boards. Duodecimo. 300 pages.
Ambrose Bierce fought at Shiloh and other Civil War battles as a member of the 9th Indiana Infantry, so when he wrote of the battlefield he knew of what he spoke.
This stunning collection of 26 Civil War stories authentically captures the heat of battle, its psychological effects on soldiers, and the broader impacts on civilians. Bierce was a master of surprise twists and shock endings, and this skill is famously displayed in his most famous short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," included herein.
"Owl Creek Bridge" first appeared in a San Francisco newspaper in 1890. This is its first appearance in book form. It is thought to be the most widely anthologized short story in American literature.
Robert Enrico directed a French short film adaptation of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" which was released in 1963. It won an Academy Award, and was famously run as an episode of The Twilight Zone.
This is the true first printing of this important collection, published by a San Francisco merchant friend of Bierce's. Bound in light green cloth (a variant not noted by Blanck), with flyleaves, and with last leaf of final signature excised, as called for.
Ref. BLANCK 1109; EICHER 726.
Bound in light green cloth over boards with gilt-stamped spine and upper board. Mild rubs to binding, shallow bumps, and some light soil. Clean and sound, near fine overall.
Item #1713
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